PUNE: India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued health risk warnings on Wednesday across states scorched by an early April heatwave. Konkan and Vidarbha in Maharashtra and southwest Rajasthan are among the other regions battling temperatures that have already climbed significantly above normal for this time of the year.
IMD advised “extreme caution for vulnerable populations” – infants, senior citizens and those with chronic illnesses – in Maharashtra and southwest Rajasthan, where an orange alert has been declared. The department advised residents to avoid heat exposure and stay adequately hydrated. An expert from the Vagaries of Weather blog said Wednesday was Pune’s hottest day so far this season, with Lohegaon and Koregaon Park recording a high of 40.2°C.
“Several other locations in Pune region, including Rajgurunagar, Shirur, and Dhamdhere, also crossed the 40°C-mark. So far in March, the average maximum temperature in Konkan has been 2-3 degrees above normal,” he said in a statement while discussing the current scenario.
In Rajasthan, heatwave conditions were reported at one or two stations on Wednesday. Parts of North Konkan, including Mumbai, also experienced a heatwave earlier this week. Sanap said temperatures would start declining in some parts of India from Thursday. Maharashtra’s Akola was the state’s hottest, reaching 41.3°C (4.6 degrees above normal), while Chandrapur sizzled at 40.6°C (+3.4°).