Local residents walking through the dried up catchment area of Meenkara dam. Trees are wilting due to lack of water and extreme weather. For the first time in the recorded history of Kerala, the India Meteorological Department has confirmed heatwaves in the State. The sizzling summer has exacerbated health issues and many parts of the State are in the grip of a drought. | Photo Credit: MUSTAFAH KK
With daytime temperatures remaining unusually high and giving the people a harrowing time, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ’warm night’ forecast along with a heatwave alert for the State. The agency is also considering a ‘hot day’ alert for the State after temperatures soared to unprecedented levels.
V.K. Mini, Director in-charge, IMD, Kerala, says normally warm night is declared when the maximum temperature remains equal to or above 40°C and the minimum temperature departs from the normal by 4.5° C to 6.4° C.
Alappuzha is more prone to warm night conditions, with the night temperature remaining beyond the threshold levels, which is generally dangerous for the human body as it will not get sufficient time to cool down and upset the sleep of people.
“Two days ago, Alappuzha inched towards satisfying the warm night conditions, with the night-time temperature departure recording 4.4° C. The persistent clouds prevented heat from escaping from the earth, increasing the night-time heat. Southern districts are prone to warm night conditions due to the presence of clouds during night,” says Ms. Mini.
Similarly, the IMD is also planning to declare a hot day alert in Kerala following the high daytime temperature coupled with high moisture in the atmosphere. A heatwave is declared when the maximum day temperature of a station reaches at least 40°C or more in plains and the minimum departure from normal by 4.5° C. In the case of a hot day, the IMD will issue alerts if the minimum departure temperature records 4.5°C and the maximum day temperature is within the limit of less than 40° C, say IMD sources.
For the time being, a good number of places in the State satisfy the criteria for hot day considering the maximum day temperature and minimum departure in these regions.
The IMD has issued a heatwave alert for Alappuzha, Palakkad, Thrissur, and Kozhikode and warm night conditions for Alappuzha on Friday. Maximum temperatures are likely to be around 40°C in Palakkad, around 39° C in Kollam, Thrissur, and Kozhikode, around 38°C in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Kannur, around 37°C in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Malappuram and Kasaragod (3 to 5°C above normal) until May 6, according to the IMD.
Meanwhile, one more person due to sunstroke in the State. Vijeesh, a native of Panniyankara in Kozhikode, who suffered sunstroke while working under the sun on Saturday, died at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on Thursday.
Two individuals had succumbed to heat stroke in the State earlier, as temperatures soared to unprecedented levels.
