The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday announced that the heatwave is nearing its end across the nation.
However, pockets in West Rajasthan and Kerala are still under the grip of the heatwave, prompting authorities to issue alerts. While the heatwave alert remains in place for West Rajasthan, IMD scientist Soma Sen said, it has been downgraded to a yellow alert due to mitigating factors.
Sen said, “We have issued it with a yellow alert because we don’t have a lot of hope for the impact.” She attributed the change in weather patterns to a strong moisture flow originating from the Bay of Bengal. This influx is expected to usher in thunderstorm activity across various regions.
The IMD said maximum temperatures were likely to be around 39 degrees Celsius in Thrissur and Palakkad, 38 degrees Celsius in Alappuzha, 37 degrees Celsius in Kollam, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur and 36 degrees Celsius in Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram and Kasaragod districts of the state till May 10, three to five degrees Celsius more than what was normal for this time of the year.
Multiple weather systems are expected to influence various parts of the country in the coming days, bringing with them rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds, according to IMD.
A cyclonic circulation over northeast Assam, another over east Bangladesh, and a trough extending from east Assam to north Odisha in lower tropospheric levels are likely to trigger fairly widespread to widespread light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and squally winds (40-50 kmph) over West Bengal and Sikkim from May 9 to May 12.
Scattered to fairly widespread rainfall with thunderstorms and gusty winds is expected over Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha during the same period.
Thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds (50-60 kmph) are forecasted over Bihar, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim on May 9, spreading to Gangetic West Bengal on May 10-11, and Jharkhand on May 10. Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely over Gangetic West Bengal, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, and Odisha during this period.
Moving to central and western India, a cyclonic circulation over Madhya Maharashtra and a trough from northwest Rajasthan to west Vidarbha are expected to cause isolated to scattered rainfall with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds (40-50 kmph) over Vidarbha, Madhya Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh from May 9 to May 13.
Rains lashed Maharashtra’s Nagpur district on Thursday morning and the downpour is likely to continue for the next three days in various districts of Vidarbha region, MeT officials said. The showers led to a dip in mercury in different areas of Vidarbha where temperatures were hovering over 40 degrees Celsius.
East Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha may experience thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds (50-60 kmph) on May 9, with the possibility of hailstorm activity over Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha on May 9 and 10, and over Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada on May 9.
In southern India, isolated heavy rainfall is expected over South Interior Karnataka on May 9, May 12, and May 13, along with scattered to fairly widespread rainfall over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Rayalaseema, Telangana, Kerala, and Mahe during the same period.
Meanwhile, a Western Disturbance coupled with a trough in middle tropospheric westerlies is expected to bring scattered to fairly widespread rainfall activity with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds over Jammu-Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand from May 9 to May 13. Hailstorm activity is also likely over Uttarakhand during this period.