MC Summer Dashboard: No respite from heat for these states

Punjab faces heat wave conditions

High temperatures and a widening rainfall deficit continued to pressure the country’s power situation. Maximum temperatures were 40-43 degrees Celsius in parts of West Rajasthan and Punjab and isolated pockets of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, as per Indian Meteorological Department data on June 25.

Punjab and parts of west Bihar witnessed heat wave conditions on June 25, according to data released by the country’s weather service. However, it noted that the situation is likely to improve in Northwest India.

“No significant change in maximum temperatures very likely over Northwest India during next 2 days and fall by 3-5 degrees Celsius thereafter,” IMD said.

The rainfall deficit widened further to 18.8% across the country; northern India still faces huge deficits compared to other parts.

Rajasthan continues to face the highest energy shortages, according to data released on Tuesday, followed by Jharkhand.

A Moneycontrol analysis of data by IMD shows that heat wave days faced by north Indian states increased further in the third week of June compared with the previous week, with some of the sub-divisions like Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh experiencing seven heat wave days between June 13 and June 19.

A heat wave is described when maximum temperatures reach over 40 degrees Celsius in plains and over 30 degrees Celsius in hilly regions and are 4.5 to 6.4 degrees Celsius above normal for two consecutive days at two stations.

Meanwhile, the monsoon tracker indicates that north Indian states are yet to receive normal rainfall, as most states are staring at rainfall deficits of over 50%. Punjab’s deficit has widened to 77%, whereas Chandigarh faces a 93% deficit.

This is also impacting reservoir levels across the country. India’s average reservoir levels are down 9% compared with the previous year.

Power data indicates India faced an energy shortage of 11.2 million units on June 25 compared with 11.6 million units the previous day.