The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha for the next two to three days due to a heatwave. Parts of the country are already reeling under intense heat due to which government agencies have issued health warnings, while some states have suspended classes.
In its latest weather bulletin issued on Monday night, the weather office said "intensely hot conditions" are expected in east India until Wednesday, while it will continue in the south peninsular region for the next five days.
The IMD has also issued an orange alert for parts of Telangana, Karnataka and Sikkim.
On Monday, a heatwave prevailed in parts of West Bengal, Gujarat, Bihar, Sikkim, Odisha, Jharkhand, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
Andhra Pradesh's Kalaikunda and Kandala recorded a maximum temperature of 45.4 degrees Celsius, which was eight notches above normal, while it was 45 degrees Celsius in the state's Nandyal city.
Meanwhile, the third-highest temperature on Monday was 44.8 degrees Celsius recorded in Odisha's Baripada, followed by Sheikhpura in Bihar with the fourth-highest at 44 degrees Celsius.
According to the IMD, the areas under red alert could "develop heat illness and heatstroke", the PTI news agency reported. The weather office asked people to take "extreme precaution".
Meanwhile, in areas under the orange alert, people could fall ill if exposed to the heat for a prolonged period of time, or if they do heavy work while out in the scorching heat.
In the next five days, Assam, Tripura, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Goa, Kerala and Karnataka are likely to witness high humidity, the weather office bulletin said.
According to the IMD, this is the second heatwave in April as heatwave conditions have prevailed in Odisha since April 15 and in the Gangetic West Bengal since April 17.
The Met Office has said four to eight heatwave days are expected in different parts of the country in April against a normal of one to three days.
Ten to 20 heatwave days are expected against a normal of four to eight in the entire April-June period.
The areas and regions predicted to witness a higher number of heatwave days are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Marathwada, Bihar and Jharkhand.
Some places may record more than 20 heatwave days.
The intense heat could strain power grids and result in water shortages in parts of India.
