1 dead as heatwave rages unabated

Several parts of the country reeled under heatwave conditions that claimed one life in Rajasthan where Churu recorded a high of almost 49 degree Celsius on Sunday, with the India Meteorological Department saying there will be no respite for the next two days.

The IMD said heatwave conditions are likely to continue over the northern plains, and central and southern parts of the country for two more days and abate gradually.

"Due to easterly winds at lower levels over northern parts of the country, the severity of the heatwave is very likely to decrease over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh today (Sunday) onwards," it said.

However, severe heatwave conditions are likely to persist over Madhya Pradesh and west Rajasthan on Monday, the IMD said.

If the maximum temperature of a weather station in the plains crosses 45 degree Celsius for two consecutive days, it is termed a heatwave. And if the temperature crosses 47 degree Celsius for two days, it is termed as a severe heatwave.

Intense heat continued to paralyse normal life in Rajasthan where a farmer died of sunstroke Sunday, as Churu remained the hottest place with a maximum of 48.9 degree Celsius.

On Saturday too, Churu, in the western part of the desert state, was the hottest place in the country at 50.8 degrees Celsius.

Several other places in the state also recorded maximum temperatures appreciably above the 40-degree mark.

Ganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Kota and Barmer recorded a high of 48.6 degree, 48.1 degree, 47.8 degree, 47.5 degree and 47.2 degree Celsius, respectively, the MeT department said.

Delhi, which seethed at 42.5 degree Celsius, two notches above the season's average, might get temporary relief from the scorching heat as the weatherman has forecast "thundery developments" Sunday night.

Heatwave conditions prevailed at several places in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday with Banda being the hottest place in the state at 47.4 degree Celsius.

According to the MeT office, 'severe heat wave' scorched isolated parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh while western part too experienced heatwave conditions at certain places.

The summer sun continued to beat down on Jammu as Sunday's maximum temperature settled at 42.5 degree Celsius, the Met office said.

However, light rain is likely in some parts of the city for three days starting Monday.

Adding to the woes of the people in the state are long power outages that have prompted massive protests by the locals and the state BJP seeking the Governor's intervention.

There was no respite from heatwave conditions in Punjab and Haryana, with Bhiwani recording a maximum of 45.6 degree Celsius.

Another Haryana district, Hisar, sizzled at a high of 45 degree Celsius, up three notches against the normal limits.

The hill state of Himachal Pradesh got some respite from heatwave after light rains in some parts which brought down the maximum temperature by two to three notches.

For the second day in a row, Una was the hottest place in the state at 42.6 degree Celsius.

Parts of Gujarat's Saurashtra region continued to reel under heatwave conditions with Surendranagar being the hottest at 45.3 degree Celsius, followed by state capital Gandhinagar (45), Rajkot (44.5) and Ahmedabad (44.4).

The IMD has issued an amber-coded warning for east Rajasthan and Vidarbha in Maharashtra.

The IMD has four colour codes to indicate the severity of weather systems -- red for extremely severe weather conditions, followed by amber, yellow and then green which denotes normalcy.

In Odisha, heatwave conditions continued unabated with temperature soaring above 40 degree Celsius in at least 10 places.

At 43.8 degree Celsius, Titlagarh in western Odisha was the hottest place in the state, the Met office said.

Severe heatwave conditions continued unabated in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

In Andhra Pradesh, Nellore, Guntur and Prakasam districts recorded maximum temperatures above 45 degree Celsius.

Adilabad district was the hottest in Telangana with a day temperature of 45.3 degree Celsius. The IMD has issued heatwave warning at isolated pockets of the state for June 5 and 6.