Weather swings in UP: After deadly storms, intense heatwave alert sounded; Banda hottest in country at 46.4 deg C
The heatwave warning for largely southern districts comes less than a week after storms, rain, and gusty winds led to at least 111 deaths and injuries to 72 people in Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh witnessed massive destruction after dust storms, heavy rain, and lightning struck several districts on May 13. (PTI Photo) After sweeping storms killed at least 111 people in Uttar Pradesh in the last few days, the state has been put on orange alert over a severe heatwave spell.
Banda district in Bundelkhand region was the hottest place in the country on Sunday, with the mercury touching a high of 46.4 degrees Celsius.
As per the India Meteorological Department’s list of top 25 hottest places in the country on Sunday, five were in Uttar Pradesh.
Besides Banda, the four places in the state that recorded high temperatures were Jhansi (44.6 degrees Celsius), Prayagraj (44.5 degrees Celsius), and Hamirpur (44.2 degrees Celsius).
A heatwave warning has been issued across the Gangetic plains of UP – from Agra and Etawah in the west to Varanasi and Ballia in the eastern part of the state. The other districts under orange alert are Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Banda, Chitrakoot, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, and Ghazipur.
According to the Met Department, the heatwave conditions will intensify between May 19 and May 22, and warned that temperatures may rise further in the coming days.
“The maximum temperature is expected to rise by another 2 to 4 degrees Celsius due to increased radiational heating under clear skies. The fresh spell of heatwave conditions is likely to begin from southern UP and gradually intensify in area and severity,” a Met official said.
According to the Met officials, the absence of any active weather system over the region is likely to keep conditions largely dry over the next four to five days, allowing temperatures to climb sharply.
Meanwhile, the IMD said that the Southwest Monsoon advanced further on May 16 into parts of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Andaman Sea, and is likely to reach Kerala around May 26.
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