The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has noted that after a brief break, the heatwave conditions are all set to return in the central and northwest regions of India, this week.
The temperature during the daytime in places like Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Odisha is set to rise gradually by 2 to 3 degrees and would prevail till April 28.
The maximum temperature will range between 40 to 42 degrees Celsius during the weekend and the heat has already set in over Kutch-Saurashtra.
The weather department’s bulletin issued on Sunday that the heatwave would prevail over Gujarat for the next five days.
On Sunday, some of the country’s hottest areas were in the northwest regions.
The maximum temperature (in degrees Celsius) recorded in Barmer-Rajasthan was 42.7 degrees, Kanpur in UP was 42.6 degrees, Banda in Uttar Pradesh was 44 degrees, while Gurgaon and Delhi recorded 41.4 degrees Celsius each.
In Delhi, the mercury is likely to touch the 44-degree mark by Thursday. Delhi has recorded eight heatwave days in April this year which is the maximum since the 11 such days that were witnessed in the month of 2010.
The heatwave is declared for the plains when the maximum temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius and at least 4.5 notches above normal.
According to IMD, a severe heatwave is declared if the temperature from normal is more than 6.4 notches.