India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a heatwave warning, Sunday, for some districts in Gujarat and Maharashtra for the upcoming three days.
An alert has been issued for the Maharashtra districts of Raigad and Ratnagiri and for the Gujarat cities of Rajkot, Surendranagar, and Kutch from February 20 to 22.
For these coastal regions in February, heatwave conditions are unusual. When the maximum temperature in the plains reaches 40ºC or above and is at least 4.5 ºC above average, a heatwave is deemed to be in effect.
“Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat will come under the influence of dry and hot anti-cyclonic winds blowing in from northern and north-western India regions,” the weather uprise noted. “This will affect the local weather and lead to a spike in the maximum temperatures, especially over Konkan-Goa and some pockets of Gujarat for another two days.”
Ratnagiri has been experiencing maximum temperatures between 37 and 40 ºC since late last week. Last week, Bhuj in Gujarat too experienced daytime highs of 40 ºC.
According to a World Bank report published in December, heatwaves will negatively affect more than 16 crore Indians starting 2030, and 3.4 crore people will lose their jobs as a result of heat-related productivity reduction.
The report stated that the heat waves will dramatically increase the need for cooling, driving up the price of air conditioners and other equipment. It will also encourage India to explore new and inventive cooling solutions.
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