Heat wave sweeps India; mercury levels soar in Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh

With westerly winds coming from Pakistan, bringing all the heat and darting all the way till Odisha, resulted in a massive heat wave across India with 14 states from west, northwest and central India recording temperatures above 44 degrees Celsius.

Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest maximum temperature of 45.9 degrees Celsius and at least three dozen places recorded maximum temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius, India Meteorological Department (IMD) data showed.

Heat wave to severe heat wave swept across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana and even West Bengal.

Maharashtra's Vidarbha was the hottest region in the country on Thursday, with Chandrapur recording a maximum temperature of 45.8°C. Other places in the state where maximum temperatures crossed the 45°-mark on Thursday were Jalgaon (45.6°C), Akola (45.4°C), Brahmapuri (45.2°C) and Wardha (45.1°C).

Heat wave conditions are likely to prevail till at least May 1 in northwest and central India and for next three days in east India.

Due to a fresh western disturbance, there is a possibility of light or moderate rainfall over northwest Himalayan region during May 2-4 while plains of northwest India are likely to receive isolated light rainfall during May 3-4.

Dust storm is likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on Friday, IMD warned.