214 places record over 400C, IMD says no heatwave conditions in State

VIJAYAWADA: People in the State got no respite from the heat as several places, mostly interior, recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius on Friday. While the State planning department has warned of hotter days over the next week, IMD said daytime temperatures will remain 2-3 degrees above normal for the next few days.

Daytime temperature of above 40 degrees Celsius was recorded at 214 places in the State on Friday. According to data provided by the Andhra Pradesh State Development Planning Society (APSDPS), severe heatwave conditions were reported in seven mandals and heatwave conditions in 40 mandals. Severe heatwave conditions were predicted in two mandals and heatwave conditions in 100 mandals on Saturday.

Heatwave conditions are calculated based on observation at Automatic Weather Stations and the forecast is based on GFS Model simulation at IMD. When the daytime temperature is seven degrees above normal, it is called a severe heatwave, and a heatwave when it is 5.5 to 6.9 degrees Celsius above normal. 

According to State Disaster Management officials, all seven mandals which experienced severe heatwave conditions on Friday are in Anakapalle district; heatwave conditions were experienced in seven mandals of Viznagaram, five of Kadapa, four each of Anakapalle, NTR and Paravatipuram Manyam districts, three each in Eluru and Srikakulam,  two each in Kurnool, Visakhapatna and Alluri Sitaramaraju and one each in Tirupati, Prakasam, Nandyal and Kakinada. 

In the 24 hours ending Friday 8:30 am, the highest daytime temperature of 43.8 degrees Celsius was reported at Tarimalla of Anantapur district. It was followed by 43.5 degree Celsius in Kalyandurg of Anantapur district, 43.4 Celsius in Pedda Dornala in Prakasam district.Weather blogger Sai Praneeth, who owns Twitter handle AP Weatherman, told TNIE that in the next five days daytime temperatures will definitely cross 46 degrees in Kadapa, Nandyal, Tirupati, Nellore, Prakasam, Palnadu and NTR districts. 

“We are experiencing the hottest days in the last four years. Several areas in the State are reeling under high temperatures which are 3-4 degrees above normal. This is the result of dry hot winds coming from North India, and the situation is likely to continue till the end of May first week. In the second week, rains are likely, bringing some much-needed respite for the citizens,” he added. 

However, IMD officials differed from his view and even contradicted APSDPS data, stating that there have been no heatwave conditions in the State for the past one week and the forecast for the next five days also indicated there would be no heatwave conditions. Even the IMD website shows that temperatures were normal.

“There have been no abnormal changes in the daytime temperature. It is true that days have been hot and the mercury levels recorded are 2-3 degrees above normal, but they do not meet the heatwave criteria. Only when daytime temperatures are over 4.5 degrees Celsius above normal, the situation can be classified as a heatwave. Only in Tuni heatwave was observed four days ago,” IMD-Amaravati director Stella told TNIE.