UP sizzles: Banda hits 48.2°, India’s hottest city for third day

Lucknow Meteorological Centre issues a severe heatwave red alert for May 20 and 21; warning covers 11 districts across Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW Uttar Pradesh endured a relentless heatwave, with Banda recording a scorching 48.2 degrees Celsius on Tuesday to become the hottest city in the country for the third consecutive day. The maximum temperature in the district settled at 4.7 degrees above normal, following staggering highs of 47.6 degrees and 46.4 degrees over the previous two days.

A woman covers herself and a kid on a hot summer day, in Prayagraj, on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

The Lucknow Meteorological Centre issued a severe heatwave red alert for May 20 and 21. The warning covers 11 districts across the state, including Banda, Chitrakoot, Prayagraj, Fatehpur, Agra, Firozabad, Etawah, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, and Jhansi.

“Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are very likely at many places over the southern part of the state and a few places over the remaining area during daytime,” stated Mohd Danish, a senior scientist at the meteorological centre.

He added that unusually warm nights are also expected at isolated locations, offering little respite from the daytime heat.

The meteorological department warned that the likelihood of the current conditions escalating into a severe heatwave, characterised by the dry Loo winds, is high in 14 districts. These include Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Chandauli, Varanasi, Ballia, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur City, Rae Bareli, Auraiya, and Lalitpur.

Weather across the state is expected to remain dry, accompanied by strong surface winds reaching speeds of 20 to 40 kmph. Western Uttar Pradesh is forecast to experience warm nights over the next 48 hours, which will likely be followed by an orange alert.

Many cities in UP sizzled at over 40 degrees on Tuesday. These included Jhansi and Agra 46.5°, Prayagraj 45.8°, Orai 45.2°, Kanpur IAF 44.8°, Kanpur City 44°, Meerut 43.6°, Aligarh 43.4°, Churk 43.2° and Etawah 43°. Lucknow’s day and night temperatures were 40.9° and 27.8°, respectively.

The maximum and minimum temperatures in Lucknow are likely to hover around 42 and 28 degrees, respectively.