Uttar Pradesh sizzles as Banda records highest at 48 degrees Celsius

Uttar Pradesh's Banda district on Wednesday recorded the highest temperature in the country at 48 degrees Celsius, even as heatwave conditions prevailed across the state.

The meteorological department has issued a warning of severe heatwave conditions at several places over the next week due to the prevailing dry weather conditions.

Many places in the state breached the 45 degrees Celsius mark, even as the weather office issued a yellow warning for the next three days and an orange warning thereafter in view of the possibility of heatwave to severe heatwave conditions. The temperature in Banda was 4.5 notches above normal, the Meteorological Centre in Lucknow said.

Prayagraj recorded 46.4 degrees Celsius, Hamirpur 46.2 degrees Celsius, Jhansi 45.9 degrees Celsius, Agra 45.3 degrees Celsius, Orai 45.2 degrees Celsius, Meerut 44 degrees Celsius and Kanpur (IAF) 44.6 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures in Varanasi, Aligarh, Sultanpur and Hardoi remained above 43 degrees Celsius.

The weather office said dry weather conditions are very likely to prevail across the state, accompanied by strong surface winds with speeds of 20 to 30 kmph gusting up to 40 kmph.

Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are likely at a few places during the daytime, while warm night conditions are expected at isolated places over the state.

For Lucknow and adjoining areas, the Met centre has forecast clear skies and strong dust-raising winds during daytime, along with warm night conditions on May 21.

The maximum and minimum temperatures in the state capital are likely to hover around 43 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius, respectively. The Met office said enhanced radiational heating, subsidence of hot winds associated with an anticyclone over central India in the middle tropospheric levels, hot and dry westerly winds over the southern parts of the state and moist easterly winds over northern regions are likely to intensify the heat conditions.

It said weather is expected to remain dry in both western and eastern Uttar Pradesh, while strong surface winds with speeds of 20 to 30 kmph, gusting up to 40 kmph, are likely at places.

For the period between 8.30 am on May 20 and 8.30 am on May 21, severe heatwave conditions are very likely at Banda, Chitrakoot, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Fatehpur, Kanpur Dehat, Agra, Firozabad, Etawah, Auraiya, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur districts and adjoining areas.

Severe heatwave conditions are also likely at Mirzapur, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Kanpur Nagar, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Aligarh, Mathura, Hathras, Etah and Mainpuri districts, the department said.

Heatwave conditions are likely at Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Saharanpur, Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr and Kasganj districts and nearby areas.

Warm night conditions are likely at isolated places in Fatehpur, Pratapgarh, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Unnao, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Saharanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Mathura, Hathras, Kasganj, Etah, Agra, Firozabad and Mainpuri districts, it added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)