IMD issues heatwave alert in India till May 18; southwest monsoon to advance from May 19

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warns of scorching heat across northwest India till May 18. States like Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh are likely to experience heatwave conditions. The IMD bulletin highlights areas in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Haryana where temperatures could soar above 40 degrees Celsius in the coming days. Southwest Monsoon is very likely to advance into the South Andaman Sea, some parts of Southeast Bay of Bengal and Nicobar Islands around May 19. States including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and others can expect light rainfall. The IMD predicts, “Wet spell with isolated heavy rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds very likely to continue over south Peninsular India till May 18, 2024.”

https://internal.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/dynamic/allindianew.pdf

Heatwave Predictions:

• Heatwave conditions are likely in isolated/some pockets over Konkan on May 15; over West Rajasthan during May 15-18; over Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, south Haryana, Bihar during May 16-18 and north Madhya Pradesh, East Rajasthan on  May 17 and 18.
• Severe heatwave conditions are also very likely in some parts of West Rajasthan on May 17 and 18; in isolated pockets of Punjab, south Haryana on May 18.

Rainfall Predictions:

Isolated heavy rainfall is expected over Arunachal Pradesh from May 16-18 and Assam and Meghalaya on May 17 and 18.

Scattered light to moderate rainfall accompanied by a thunderstorm, lightning and squally winds (30-40 km) is very likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura on May 15 and is likely to increase to fairly widespread to widespread rainfall during May 16 -18.

Isolated light to moderate rainfall activity is very likely over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during May 17-19.