Explained: Why mercury is rising and what's behind searing heatwave in March this year
Zee News
On Saturday (March 19), the maximum temperature recorded in Delhi was 36.6 degrees Celsius, which was six notches above normal.
New Delhi: Several parts of India have been reeling under early summer heat with the maximum temperature settling at over 35 degrees in various cities. The summer heat has set in across the country with mercury levels showing a continuous rising trend.
On Saturday (March 19), the maximum temperature recorded by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Delhi was 36.6 degrees Celsius, which was six notches above normal. In Madhya Pradesh, the highest temperature was recorded at 43 degrees Celsius on Friday and in Odisha, the mercury had touched 41 degrees Celsius the same day for the first time this summer.
This week, the maximum temperatures even in the Himalayan states and foothills was higher than normal.
As the sun marches northwards and according to the climatology, the month of March is when the region extending from Maharashtra to Odisha is a heat zone. In its March to May seasonal forecast issued on March 1, the IMD had already predicted that it was expecting above normal maximum temperatures most likely over many parts of western and central India and hence a heatwave can be expected extending from south Gujarat to Maharashtra to Odisha.
On the reasons for the heatwave, IMD Director General, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra has said that the higher than normal temperatures are because of the wind flow pattern in these areas.
