At 44.2 degrees Celsius, Akola sees day's highest temperature in India; parts of Maharashtra sizzle

Nagpur/Mumbai: Parts of Maharashtra are reeling under intense heat, with Akola city in the Vidarbha region recording the maximum temperature of 44.2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, the highest in the country for the day, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Along with Akola, three other cities in the state - Amravati (44), Wardha (43.9) and Nagpur (43.4) - occupied the top four spots in the country in terms of the highest maximum temperature for the day, it said.

Officials said mercury levels are set to go up and heatwave conditions will prevail over most districts of Vidarbha.

Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh was also at the fourth place with 43.4 degrees Celsius, as per the information provided by the IMD's Nagpur centre.

These places were followed by Solapur, which saw the maximum temperature of 43.3 degree Celsius, Malegaon (in Nashik) 43.2 and Beed in Maharashtra 43.1 degrees Celsius, all in Maharashtra.

Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh recorded the maximum temperature of 43 degrees Celsius and Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh saw 43 degrees Celsius, the IMD said.

Talking to PTI, Dr Praveen Kumar, a scientist at the IMD's Nagpur centre, said Akola has been recording the highest maximum temperature in the country since the last two-three days.

The IMD issued a warning that heatwave conditions are likely to develop in Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Nagpur, Yavatmal, Washim, Buldhana, Chandrapur and Bhandara districts of Vidarbha in the next five days, he said.

"In the coming four to five days, there will be no respite from the heat and temperatures will continue to rise in Vidarbha. The reason is that there is an anti-cyclonic circulation existing at the height of 3.1 km and above from the mean sea level over Maharashtra and adjoining area," Kumar said.

As per the IMD's predictions, the maximum temperature is expected to go down from April 21, according to him.

The district administration of Wardha has directed all the schools to remain shut on Thursday in view of the extreme heat.

Most parts of western Maharashtra and Marathwada also witnessed the temperature soaring above 40 degrees Celsius.

Sangli recorded 41.8 degrees Celsius, Baramati 40.2, Parbhani 42, Jalgaon 42.3, Ahilyanagar 41.9, Dharashiv 41 and Satara 40 degrees Celsius, it said.

Although the temperature in coastal districts of the state was below 40 degrees Celsius, humidity coupled with heat added to people's woes.

Ratnagiri recorded 32.8 degrees Celsius, Santacruz observatory in Mumbai (suburbs) 34.5 degrees Celsius, Colaba observatory of Mumbai (island city) recorded 34.2 degrees Celsius.

The IMD has issued a yellow alert with hot and humid conditions for the coastal districts of Palghar, Mumbai, Thane, Ratnagiri, Raigad and Sindhudurg.

A yellow alert with a heatwave warning has also been issued for Sangli, Solapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Parbhani, Hingoli, Akola, Amravati and Wardha.

The IMD grades the severity of any weather system through colour-coded alerts - green (no warning), yellow (be aware), orange (be prepared) and red (take action).

Meanwhile, an expert from Vasantrao Naik Agriculture University in Parbhani told PTI that the heat wave conditions will continue to prevail in parts of the Marathwada region, comprising eight districts, for the next 48 to 72 hours.

The temperature here can go up by 4 to 5 degrees during this period, he said.

"When the temperature rises up by around 4.5 degrees Celsius, it is considered a heat wave. Such a rise in temperature is most likely to be recorded in 4-5 districts of Marathwada," agrometeorologist Kailas Dakhore told PTI.

An alert has been issued by the government agencies about this weather change. People in Nanded district have been advised not to step out of homes during afternoon hours unless it is very necessary, another official said.