GUWAHATI: Guwahati along with several other cities in the northeast have recorded a significant rise in temperature in the past three days. The rise can be the impact of a heatwave which is reportedly sweeping across the country including neighbouring states of West Bengal.
Though a heatwave has not yet been officially declared for the northeastern states, it doesn’t take away the fact that several cities and towns of the region are facing harsh temperatures.
As per the IMD, on April 17, Guwahati witnessed a temperature of 37.7°C which was 6.5 degrees higher than the normal temperature at this time of the season. Similarly, the minimum temperature today too was above normal by 1.5 degrees and stood at 22°C.
Though the IMD report forecasted light rain in isolated parts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, Guwahati is unlikely to receive any rain in the next few days.
Although IMD recorded today’s temperature to be 37.7°C, weather.com showed the city’s temperature to be 39°C in the afternoon with a minimum temperature falling as low as 25°C.
In a press release on Monday, the IMD said the maximum daytime temperatures are three to five degrees Celsius above normal in many parts of northwest, east and northeast India.
The heatwave blowing over the country has only worsened. 12 people died suffering heatstroke after they attended a large public gathering in the open in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. Over 20 people have been admitted to the hospital, three of whom were in critical condition. Dozens of others suffered from dehydration while standing in the heat, as per media reports.
A heat stroke or sunstroke is the result of overheating of the body as a result of exposure to high temperatures and humidity, or due to prolonged physical exertion at high temperatures. Reports stated that apart from the long exposure to heat in the open ground, physical exertion may have had a role to play in the horrific incident.