Heatwave: Maharashtra announces early summer vacation for schools as mercury soars

The Maharashtra government on Thursday announced early summer vacation for primary, middle, and higher secondary schools of state board from Friday (April 21) due to heatwave conditions. Some parts of the country have witnessed severe heatwaves in the past few days. Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai experienced heatwave conditions on Wednesday with the suburban Santacruz observatory recording a temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius while Navi Mumbai sizzled at 42 degrees Celsius.

A temperature of 38.8 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal which qualifies as a heatwave was recorded by the Santacruz observatory which measures meteorological parameters in suburban Mumbai. "Today heatwave conditions are observed at isolated pockets over Konkan including Mumbai and Thane,” IMD scientist Rajendra Jenamani said on Wednesday.

Also read: Heatwave in India: 90% of India, entire Delhi in 'danger' zone of heatwave impacts, finds study

A heatwave is declared when there is a departure of 4.5 to 6.4 degrees Celsius from the normal. The Colaba observatory, which records meteorological observations in Mumbai, recorded a temperature of 34.6 degrees Celsius, two degrees above normal. Navi Mumbai recorded a temperature of 42 degrees Celsius.

Today, the India Meteorological Department, the country's central weather forecasting agency, said that heat wave conditions are likely to continue over East India during the next two days. On Wednesday, maximum temperatures were in the range of 40-44 degrees Celsius over most parts of East India, many parts of central India, interior Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Telangana. The rest of the country witnessed temperatures between 35 and 40 degree Celsius.

The weather department said that heat wave conditions are prevailing in isolated pockets over Gangetic West Bengal for the last 9 days, coastal Andhra Pradesh for the last 7 days, Bihar for the last 6 days, and Odisha for the last 4 days. In its latest bulletin, the IMD has predicted heatwave in Gangetic West Bengal on April 21-22, Bihar and Odisha on April 21.  

In Meghalaya, the East Khasi Hills district administration has shut all educational institutions located around the Dangar area under Mawsynram block for a week from Friday due to heatwave.

Earlier in the day, a new study said that heat waves in India were becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change, with over 90 per cent of the country in the "extremely cautious" or "danger zone" of their impacts. The study, conducted by Ramit Debnath and colleagues at the University of Cambridge, also said that Delhi was particularly vulnerable to severe heat wave impacts.

Today, Delhi's temperature lowered a bit due to rains in some parts. The weather agency had predicted hailstorms at isolated places in Delhi during the day. It said that the skies are expected to be partly cloudy for the next few days.

(With inputs from PTI)