India Braces for a Hot May, Says IMD
India is set to experience above-normal temperatures this May, with the IMD predicting more heatwave days across several states. However, occasional thunderstorms could prevent the mercury from reaching last year’s blistering highs.
If you were planning to swan about in May without breaking a sweat, think again. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded the alarm bells (albeit gently) with a fresh forecast that suggests most of India is likely to swelter under above-normal temperatures this May. But before you clutch your pearls and start fanning yourself in a frenzy, there’s a sliver of good news – the odd thunderstorm might take the edge off.
According to IMD’s top brass, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, the number of heatwave days is expected to be one to four days higher than usual in vast swathes of the country. So, if you’re in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, or anywhere in that sweaty stretch from Madhya Pradesh to Gangetic West Bengal, you might want to keep your sunhat handy and a bottle of lassi within arm’s reach.
And it doesn’t stop there. Some parts of Gujarat, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and even bits of north Karnataka and adjoining Telangana aren’t getting off lightly either. They too are on the hit list for more than their fair share of roasting.
To put things in perspective, most places in India (barring the southwest Peninsula, which always seems to dodge the worst of it) usually see one to three heatwave days in May. This time around, the mercury might decide to play mischief a tad more frequently.
Still, there’s a silver lining to this cloud – literally. Mohapatra noted that frequent and intense thunderstorms are likely to pop up throughout the month, playing the role of the uninvited guest that actually saves the party. These unexpected downpours might just stop the mercury from shooting off the charts as it did in May 2024 – a month now remembered for its blistering heat.
In fact, if April was anything to go by, it’s no wonder the IMD’s on high alert. The country clocked a whopping 72 heatwave days in April alone, with Rajasthan and Gujarat sweating through six to eleven such days. East Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha weren’t far behind, registering four to six days of soul-melting temperatures.
Curiously, a few places bucked the trend. In east-central India, Maharashtra, and parts of northern Peninsular India, heatwave days were slightly below the usual. One could almost hear a collective sigh of relief.
And here’s a twist in the tale – while the sun plans to overstay its welcome in many parts of the country, north India is expected to receive above-normal rainfall this May – clocking more than 109% of the usual 64.1 mm average. So, it might just be a case of “when it rains, it pours” – quite literally.
All in all, it looks like the kettle’s on – but not quite whistling madly just yet. May promises to be a bit of a mixed bag: a few sweaty days here, a thunderstorm there, and maybe, just maybe, a moment or two of cool respite in between. But if you’re planning outdoor weddings or ambitious road trips, best keep one eye on the skies and the other on the thermometer.
After all, in a land where the weather swings faster than a cricket scoreboard, it’s always wise to be prepared.
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