With month of March coming to its close end, seasonal heat is expanding and covering large pockets in quite a few states. Still, the heat is confining to the southern and central parts, south of the Tropic of Cancer. The eastern parts, inclusive of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Jharkhand remain oblivious to the threshold mark of 40°C. Frequent passage of western disturbances in the northern parts has shielded the region from any extreme heat, so far. However, these days may just be numbered now and the onslaught is likely, very soon.
Earlier, interior parts of Andhra Pradesh remained synonymous with the parched heat of the season. Anantapur, Kurnool, Cuddapah and Nandyal perpetually recorded the highest temperatures over the country, invariably, in excess of 40°C. This pocket, Rayalaseema continue to scale the 40°C mark and be the hottest over the South Peninsula. Additionally, the zone of 40°C has expanded and now covers sub-divisions of Vidarbha, Marathwada, Madhya Maharashtra, Central Gujarat, Saurashtra & Kutch. Isolated stations of Telangana and North Interior Karnataka have also crossed the 40° mark.
The list of 40°C and above has become long. The highest maximum temperature 41.6°C, was recorded at Bhuj. Rajkot was close behind at 41.1°C. Amreli, Deesa, Surendranagar, and Ahmedabad were the other few breaching the 40°C mark. All the three landlocked sub-divisions of Maharashtra have exceeded 40°C. The highest of 41.5°C was recorded at Akola and close behind was Washim at 41.4°C, in Vidarbha. Buldhana, Wardha, Bramhapuri, and Amravati also exceeded the 40°C mark. Jalgaon, Malegaon, Sholapur, Beed, Nanded, and Parbhani recorded the season’s highest in excess of 40°C.
Heat is likely to catch up further. Central parts of the country will find a rise in the mercury level by 2-3°C. The envelope of 40°C may enlarge further to cover parts of Telangana and Karnataka in the South and parts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh also coming up for a similar showdown. Northern parts will remain under the influence of western disturbance and therefore, escape the pre-monsoon heat for another week or ten days. The state of Gujarat has to watch out for some extreme temperatures coming up shortly, more so, for Saurashtra and Kutch.
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