As north India grapples with heatwave, rain alert across southern states

Severe heatwave conditions are expected in Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, and western Rajasthan, with some parts of eastern Rajasthan also affected over the next five days.

Commuters wade through a flooded road following rains in Thiruvananthapuram. (PTI Photo)

The southern part of India is gearing up for a rainy weekend as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted favourable conditions for the further advancement of the monsoon. Meanwhile, states in northern India continue to grapple with rising temperatures.

The weather agency has issued a rain alert and thunderstorm warning for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for the next five days.

According to the IMD forecast released on Wednesday, the regions of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala, Lakshadweep, coastal and south interior Karnataka will experience light to moderate rainfall over the next two days. The rainfall is attributed to cyclonic circulations over north Kerala and Karnataka, with a trough extending to the middle tropospheric levels and reaching north coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Kerala is expected to experience extremely heavy rainfall until Thursday. Light to moderate rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds (30-40 km/h), is very likely over Konkan & Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, Vidarbha, and Madhya Pradesh on the May 22, and in Chhattisgarh from May 22 to 26.

Additionally, a cyclonic circulation over east Bangladesh and a trough extending from Haryana are likely to bring isolated to scattered light to moderate rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds across the affected regions throughout the week. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also expected to receive light to moderate rainfall until this weekend.

The IMD has further issued rain alerts for Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura, with isolated heavy rainfall forecast for Arunachal Pradesh this week. On May 25, light to moderate rainfall is expected in many places across Mizoram, Tripura, and southern Manipur, with heavy rainfall at isolated locations.

Heatwave Alerts

As of yesterday, maximum temperatures ranged between 44-47°C in many parts of Rajasthan; in certain areas of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat; and in isolated pockets of West Uttar Pradesh. Temperatures ranged from 40-44°C in many areas of Punjab, Odisha, and interior Maharashtra, as well as some parts of East Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and isolated pockets of Telangana.

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Severe heatwave conditions are expected in Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, and western Rajasthan, with some parts of eastern Rajasthan also affected over the next five days. Uttar Pradesh, northwest Madhya Pradesh, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, and Vidarbha are also expected to experience heatwave conditions this week. Konkan, Goa, and Odisha will continue to face hot and humid conditions over the next five days.

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