Rain relief for north India in May, eastern region likely to be hotter than normal: IMD

Slightly higher than normal rainfall in north, northwest and western part of India in May is expected to keep the temperatures cool in these parts of the country, while eastern and northeastern parts of the country are likely to be hotter than normal, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday.

As per the IMD’s monthly forecast, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi and parts of western UP and western Madhya Pradesh are likely to be cooler than normal in May because of rains. However, the entire eastern part of the country – Bihar, eastern UP, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and some other parts of the northeastern region — are expected to experience hotter than usual May, said the IMD. The eastern region is, therefore, expected to have a higher number of heatwave days, it said.

From May, the IMD would include a ‘heat index’ in its daily bulletin, which would be a measure of how tolerable the heat is. It would integrate temperature, humidity and wind parameters.