East and Northeast India experienced a record-breaking heat during the month of April this year, registering the highest minimum and mean temperatures since 1901.
This out-of-season increase in temperatures which is well above the average for this time of the year, has been especially alerted in Southern peninsular India.
Northwest India was an outlier, with no heatwave days throughout April, whereas the southern, eastern, and northeastern regions saw many heatwave days.
During the month of April, Odisha experienced 18 heatwave days, West Bengal recorded 16, and Jharkhand recorded 10.
At West Bengal's Kalaikunda, where the maximum temperature hit a scorching 47.2 degrees Celsius—a notable 10.4 degrees above normal—there was the greatest departure from average temperatures.
The highest recorded temperatures in Odisha were 46.4 degrees Celsius in Baripada and 46.0 degrees Celsius in Balasore.
The existence of five active western disturbances coincided with a cooler month for northwest India, ironically, slowing down the weather shift and contributing to the overall cooler regional environment.
But according to weather forecasts, the heatwave is predicted to persist in the southern and western areas, sustaining above-average temperatures into May.
In contrast, temperatures will be below average in other parts of the nation, such as northwest India.