Odisha Among 18 States To Witness Intense Heat Wave This Summer: IMD

Bhubaneswar: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its seasonal report on Friday said that core heat wave zones of 18 states including Odisha will experience an intense heat wave spell for three months between April and June.

In its seasonal temperature forecast outlook for the period April to June 2020, IMD said that the average maximum temperature is likely to be warmer than normal by more than 1 degree Celsius over East and West Rajasthan and Gujarat region. It is likely to be warmer than normal by 0.5 to 1 degree Celsius over Odisha, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Telangana and meteorological sub-divisions of Marathawada, Madhya Maharashtra and coastal Andhra Pradesh. The remaining states are likely to experience normal minimum temperatures (departure from normal within -0.5 and 0.5 degree Celsius).

The report also said that the average maximum temperature is likely to be warmer than normal by 0.5- 1 degree Celsius over East and West Rajasthan, West Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathawada, North and South Interior Karnataka, coastal Karnataka, Rayalaseema and Kerala while the remaining states are likely to experience normal maximum temperatures (Departure from normal (within -0.5 and 0.5 degree Celsius).

The report further said that there is about 43 per cent probability of maximum temperatures in the core heat wave zones of Odisha, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Telangana and meteorological subdivisions of Marathawada, Madhya Maharashtra and coastal Andhra Pradesh. “This in turn suggests slightly above normal frequency of heat wave conditions likely in the core heat wave zone during the season,” the report added.

Referring to the ENSO (El Nino–Southern Oscillation) neutral conditions, the IMD has said that warm conditions presently prevailing over the equatorial Pacific Ocean indicate that the ENSO-neutral conditions are likely to continue during the entire forecast period.