Vidarbha sizzles for third consecutive day, hottest April for central India says IMD

For the third consecutive day on Saturday, all 11 weather stations in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region recorded a daytime maximum temperature above 40 degrees Celsius

Mumbai: Central India, which includes all four meteorological sub-divisions in Maharashtra, namely Vidarbha, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada and the Konkan, is witnessing its hottest April in 122 years, with the average daily reading of 37.78 degrees Celsius being the highest ever recorded since the India Meteorological Department (IMD) first started collecting weather data in 1901.

Mumbai, India - April 28, 2022: A youth washes his face for little respite in the sweltering heat as mercury rises, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, April 28, 2022. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

For the third consecutive day on Saturday, all 11 weather stations in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region recorded a daytime maximum temperature above 40 degrees Celsius. Chandrapur was the hottest city in the state once again, clocking a temperature of 46.6 degrees Celsius, up from the 46.4 degrees Celsius recorded on Friday. In Brahmapuri in Chandrapur district, the temperature climbed to 46.3 degrees Celsius, up from 45.6 degrees the day prior.

“The average maximum temperature for central India was 37.78 degrees Celsius which was 1.49 degrees Celsius warmer than normal. The second warmest April for the region was in 1973 where the average maximum day temperature was 37.75 degrees Celsius. In 1973, the day temperature was 1.45 degrees Celsius warmer than normal,” said M Mohapatra, director general, IMD.

By comparison, Mumbai’s maximum daytime temperature was 34.9 degree on Saturday.

IMD officials were unable to confirm whether Maharashtra alone was recording its hottest April. The weather stations in central India are also located in other states, including Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Other locations with exceedingly high readings in the state on Saturday included Jalgaon (44.3 degrees Celsius), Akola (45.5 degrees Celsius), Wardha (45 degrees Celsius), and Nagpur (44.6 degrees Celsius). Notably however, these locations saw a slight dip in daytime temperatures as compared to Friday, as did a few locations across Vidarbha, Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada, including Pune, Nashik, Jalgaon, Parbani, Aurangabad and others. As of Saturday, heat wave alerts are in place for Akola and Chandrapur districts till May 3, and in Nagpur, Yavatmal and Wardha districts till May 1.

As per forecasts, heat wave conditions across India are likely to start reducing gradually from May 1, due to a low pressure area which is expected to form over the south Andaman Sea and adjoining Bay of Bengal on May 5. This weather system may bring cooling winds and pre-monsoon showers to parts of India, including Maharashtra, causing temperatures to settle closer to normal or at normal.

“On Saturday, 19 weather stations out of 26 in interior Maharashtra recorded a max of over 40 degrees Celsius, whereas on Thursday and Friday 23 stations were seeing temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. This may not be enough to alleviate discomfort, and the health risk remains high for vulnerable groups. Citizens take all precautions until further notice, especially in Vidarbha where the situation has not improved as much today,” said KS Hosalikar, head of the IMD’s surface instrument division in Pune, said.