The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday the maximum temperatures is likely to remain above normal by 3 degree Celsius in central and western India during the next five days. It also predicted "scattered to fairly widespread rainfall over northeast India till February 23".

The temperature in Delhi settled at 16.1 degrees Celsius Tuesday morning, five notches above normal. On Monday, the national capital recorded the third hottest February day in 55 years with the maximum temperature at the Safdarjung observatory soaring to 33.6 degrees Celsius, around 9 degrees above normal. A low of 13.1 degrees Celsius was recorded throughout the day.

"Heat in Delhi is going to persist and may impact yield and quality of crops. Some relief in temperature expected after 48 hours, but it will remain above normal," Skymet said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the mercury in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad crossed 38 degrees Celsius in February for the first time in over 30 years, News 18 reported.

The weather department added that "significantly higher than normal maximum temperature over the northwest" in the past week. The maximum temperatures were in the range of 35-39°C over many parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Konkan and Goa, coastal Karnataka between February 13 and 20.

In Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the maximum temperature was in the range of 23-28 degrees Celsius - above normal by 5-11 degrees. And over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi, the maximum temperature reached up to 28-33 degrees during February 18-20, which is also above normal by 5- 9 degrees, the weather department said in a press release issued on Monday evening.

On Monday, the IMD had issues season's first, and fairly early, heat wave alert in Konkan and Kutch regions and in Maharashtra's Raigad, Ratnagiri and Mumbai Suburban for a brief period. The weather department also said that the maximum temperature is likely to hover above normal for the next two days.

Amid the warning that above-normal temperatures would prevail in key producing states, the government set up a panel of officials to assess the impact of rising temperatures on the wheat crop. Read more about it here

(With inputs from PTI)

First Published:Feb 21, 2023 10:43 AM IST