Heatwave alert for north, central India as mercury touches 44°C

While the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the progress of the monsoon was satisfactory, it issued a heatwave alert on Sunday evening for isolated pockets over Bihar, coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand, among others, for the next five days. Heavy rains lashed Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district on Sunday, while over 86 blocks in the state recorded severe heatwave conditions for the first time.

All schools shut down in Jharkhand for three days

Heatwave conditions are expected to persist over Delhi, Haryana, south Uttar Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal, and Odisha until Tuesday, according to the weather agency. Similar conditions were predicted over Chhattisgarh, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Telangana, and Vidarbha on Monday. With the mercury hovering in the range of 38-44 degrees Celsius, all schools will be closed for three days starting Monday in Jharkhand.

Meanwhile, Cyclone Biparjoy is intensifying further

Patna to shut schools till June 18

Similarly, due to the intense heatwave in Bihar, Patna District Magistrate Dr. Chandra Shekhar Singh restricted all academic activities up to Class 12 till Sunday. Separately, severe heatwave conditions in Andhra Pradesh are likely to raise the temperature over 6.5 degrees above normal. However, despite being major heatwave zones, the North-West and Rajasthan aren't expected to see intense heatwave conditions, the IMD added.

Areas under heatwave to experience rain in next few days

That said, the IMD predicted a good amount of rain in the north coastal region of Andhra Pradesh for the next couple of days. Heatwave conditions are likely to prevail in Hyderabad until June 18 and the monsoon is expected to enter by June 20. Moderate showers are expected in Tamil Nadu, while its interior regions are braving heatwave conditions.