40 degrees in February: The Indian summer is here with record temperatures, heatwave in tow

A severe heatwave swept through large swathes of India in April, the third hottest April in 122 years, the last being in 1901 (Image: AFP)

A climatologist and weather historian has predicted that a record heat wave will hit India this year with unprecedented temperature levels recorded this time of the year. On February 16, temperatures in Gujarat’s Bhuj rose to 40.3 Celsius – a new monthly record, Maximiliano Herrera tweeted from his account called “Extreme Temperatures Around the World”.

70km from Bhuj is Kandla that too recorded 38.1 degrees on February 16 - another monthly record. Herrera predicted that the next days it will get worse and worse and dozens of heat-related records will be smashed in India and Pakistan.

Accuweather.com has also predicted temperatures soaring to 40 degrees on multiple days in February for Bhuj. The India Meteorological Department has however predicted a high of 39 degrees for Bhuj in the coming days.

Record heat wave in #India with temperatures at unprecedented levels for this time of the year.
Today 16 February Bhuj rose to 40.3C,a new monthly record,Kandla 38.1C is also a monthly record.
Next days it will get worse and worse,with dozens records smashed in India and Pakistan pic.twitter.com/Rt8vmHGcns

— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) February 16, 2023

Herrera responded too predicting that it will just get worse.

“According to Indian climatologist Rajesh Kapadia, the 40C set today in India is the earliest ever seen in India and it also the earliest ever in the whole Asia together with 16 February 2016 at Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Historic. And it will just get worse than this,” Herrera wrote.

Herrera also added that Pakistan has also recorded 40 degrees at Mithi, which is the highest reliable temperature ever recorded in February in the country. The previous record was 39.4 degrees in February 1953 at Umarkot, the climatologist said that old, higher readings are not reliable.

A severe heatwave swept through large swathes of India in April last year, the third hottest April in 122 years, the last being in 1901.