“As thunderstorm activity surges, heatwave conditions in North India are less likely,” an IMD expert said

NEW DELHI: According to Soma Sen Roy, a scientist with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), there is a decreased likelihood of heatwave conditions in North India when there is a rise in thunderstorm activity.

Soma Sen Roy, in an interview with ANI, stated: “We saw thunderstorm activity yesterday, April 26, mainly in North-West India… The winds had been blowing rather strongly.

We saw hailstorm activity in places like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.”
The expert clarified that there is a decreased likelihood of heatwave conditions occurring as a result of this thunderstorm activity. “Due to these thunderstorm activities, there is a drop in temperature and there can be a decrease of 4 to 5 degrees Celsius and therefore, the chances of heatwave conditions in North India are less likely to happen,” she said.

The IMD representative said, “We issued an orange warning due to severe dusty winds. The day after tomorrow, there will be an increase in thunderstorm activity across the plains once again, which will cause Punjab and Haryana to issue another orange warning. The orange warning will remain in effect in the western Himalayan area.”

Roy went on, “There was a lot of thunderstorm activity yesterday. There were winds of 50 kmph even in Delhi. An orange signal has been issued because thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected to persist across Jammu & Kashmir and the western Himalayas.

Soma Sen Roy did note that heatwaves are a possibility in East Uttar Pradesh, however.

“If you look at the conditions of the heatwave, you will see that East India, Gangetic West Bengal, and Orissa face more severity,” Roy said in reference to the heatwave conditions in India. Because of the severity, the temperature may rise to between 45°C and 47°C. Over the previous several days, West Bengal and Orissa have seen this condition. We anticipate a red alert in the Gangetic regions of West Bengal and Orissa for a few days in such a scenario.”

“If we talk about eastern states like Bihar, Jharkhand and southern regions like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Raiseema, and Konkan, these areas will continue to witness heatwaves for the next two to five days,” she said.

In the meantime, IMD issued a forecast on Friday that called for rain, hail, and thunderstorms over the next 48 hours in ten districts of Himachal Pradesh.

“Thunderstorms with lightning, hail and strong wind (30–40 kmph) are very likely at isolated places over Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan, Una during the next 48 hours,” said IMD Shimla.