IMD said heatwave conditions are not expected over north and central India in March.
New Delhi:
India is likely to experience more heat this year with El Nino conditions predicted to continue till at least May, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday.
It said warmer than normal days are predicted in northeastern peninsular India – Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and northern interior Karnataka – and many parts of Maharashtra and Odisha.
The country is likely to record above normal rainfall (117 per cent more than the long period average of 29.9 mm) in March.
IMD Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra said in a press conference that the maximum and minimum temperatures in India during the March to May period are likely to be above normal in most parts of the country.
He said that heatwave conditions are not expected in North and Central India in March.
Mr Mohapatra said the current El Nino conditions – periodic warming of waters in the central Pacific Ocean – will continue into the summer season and neutral conditions are likely to develop thereafter.
La Nina conditions – which are generally associated with good monsoon rainfall over India – are likely to set in by the second half of the monsoon season.
The IMD chief also said India recorded an average minimum temperature of 14.61 degrees Celsius in February, the second highest in the month since 1901.
A total of eight western disturbances – cyclonic storms originating in the Mediterranean region and beyond – affected the weather over the western Himalayan states in February.
Of these, six were active western disturbances that caused rain and hailstorm over the plains of north and central India.
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