Bihar reels under severe heatwave, no respite till April 20

Meteorologists said heat wave condition is likely to aggravate as majority of the places would record maximum temperature around 42°C to 45°C till April 20.

PATNA: Life has been thrown out of gear due to the heatwave prevailing in the state as majority of places recorded the maximum temperature above 40°C for the fourth consecutive day, said officials of Patna Meteorological Centre on Monday.

A deserted road in Patna on Monday. As per the daily bulletin, Patna’s maximum temperature stood at 43.2°C. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

Severe heatwave was declared at East Champaran, Khagaria and Banka while heatwave was declared in 11 districts, including Patna, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Supaul, Bhagalpur, Sheikhpura, Vaishali, Sitamarhi, Aurangabad, Katihar, Nawada, and Nalanda.

According to India Meteorological Department, a heatwave is declared in plains when the maximum temperature is over 40 °C. A ‘severe’ heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature is 6.4°C above normal.

According to the daily bulletin, Sheikhpura remained the hottest place with the maximum temperature of 43.4°C. Patna’s maximum temperature stood at 43.2°C, Gaya 43°C, Khagaria 43.2°C, Bhagalpur 42°C, Jamui 42.7°C, Banka 42.9°C, Nawada 42.8°C and Nalanda 42.7°C.

Residents shared that stepping out of their house is challenging owing to scorching heat and dry winds.

Meteorologists said heat wave condition is likely to aggravate as majority of the places would record maximum temperature around 42°C to 45°C till April 20.

Kumar Gaurav, an official at Patna Meteorological Centre, said, “Westerly and north-westerly winds are prevailing over the state 5.8km above mean sea level. Dry and gusty winds are likely to prevail over parts of the state at the speed of 30 km per hour during next three to four days. As a result, day temperature is expected to remain one to four notches above the season’s corresponding normal.”

Patna Meteorological Centre has issued an orange colour warning for heat wave condition in Patna, Banka, Jamui, Nawada, Aurangabad and Supaul on April 18 and 19 and yellow-colour warning for southern districts on April 20.