Summer has set in most parts of the country and most regions of the country are going to experience above normal average seasonal temperatures between April and June, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday in its outlook for the 'hot season'. North and northwest India will witness a harsher summer as it will see greater anomalies in temperatures, but the eastern, east central and southern parts of the country are likely to below normal seasonal temperatures. On the brighter side, IMD said the seasonal temperature anomalies between April and June are likely to be cooler than the corresponding period of 2017.
"Upcoming hot weather season (April to June) is expected to have the above normal sub-divisional average seasonal temperatures (maximum, minimum and mean) over most of the meteorological sub-divisions of the country," IMD said. IMD data showed that several parts of central India, western and northwest India, covering Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra recorded temperatures above 40 degree Celsius. In fact, a heat wave forecast has also been issued for parts of eastern and western Rajasthan.
The IMD's summer outlook said the core heat wave zone of the country spanning from the hill-states to entire North India, northwest, Central India, Gangetic plains, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Central India, including Telangana and Vidarbha will experience heat waves.
"Our analysis shows that while average seasonal temperatures would be above normal in most sub-divisions (meteorological regions) of the country, the possibility of timely rainfall and localised factors will result in below normal maximum temperatures in eastern, east-central and parts of southern India," said M Mohapatra, Director General, National Weather Forecasting Centre.
Based on its own models and that of international meteorological bureaus, the IMD has said that current sea surface temperatures conditions over equatorial Pacific suggests prevalence of La Niña conditions even as atmospheric conditions suggest otherwise. The La Niña usually brings good rainfall to the sub-continent.
The monsoon mission climate forecast system of Ministry of Earth Science indicated that La Niña will continue at least till June, however, certain global models showed weakening of the phenomenon. Weathermen, though, cautioned that it is still early to declare that monsoon will be good.
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