New Delhi: Parts of India are going to be very hot this week. If you’re in the wrong place, dangerously so.
Temperatures are already touching 40 to 45 degrees Celsius across eastern Uttar Pradesh, eastern Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Vidarbha. The IMD declares a heatwave when temperatures exceed the regional normal by 4.5 degrees several of these areas crossed that already.
Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and pockets of Rajasthan and UP are among the hardest hit. The east coast is a separate issue. In Odisha, coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, the heat comes with thick humidity, which makes the actual danger worse than whatever the thermometer reads. High humidity means sweat doesn’t evaporate the body simply can’t cool down.
There’s a Western Disturbance passing through the northern plains right now. On paper, these systems carry rain from the Mediterranean to northern India. This one is too weak to do much some cloud cover, maybe an isolated shower over Punjab, northern Rajasthan, or western Haryana by evening. Delhi and most of the north won’t see anything.
Southern India gets the first break. Thunderstorms are expected across southern Maharashtra, north Karnataka, and Telangana over the next 72 hours. The northeast Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim will see scattered rain too.
According to the IMD, extreme heat continues in east Rajasthan and Odisha until April 22, Jharkhand until April 21, and west Rajasthan from April 21 to 22. East UP may ease around April 20; Vidarbha and central India slightly earlier. No meaningful cooling is coming to the plains before that.
Avoid going out between noon and 4 pm. Drink water consistently, not just when you feel thirsty. Keep an eye on IMD’s district-level alerts they update regularly.