Visakhapatnam: Rayalaseema will face severe heat conditions from next week, according to an IMD Amaravati forecast on Thursday. Temperatures have already crossed 40 degrees Celsius in Nandyal, Kurnool, Anantapur and Kadapa. They are expected to slowly increase in the ensuing days.
“We may have heatwave conditions from this Sunday onwards. Spells of these heat waves will be longer compared to previous years,” said senior scientist at IMD Amaravathi Dr. S. Karunasagar on Thursday.
Daytimes, particularly the afternoons, are already giving a taste of impending weather conditions with mercury steadily marching towards 40 degrees’ Celsius mark in most parts of the Rayalaseema region.
The IMD has in its long-range forecast has predicted that Andhra Pradesh is likely to experience hotter days than normal during the 2024 summer (March to May). There will be an increase in heatwaves, with temperatures being higher than usual.
Andhra Pradesh had experienced 21 heatwave days in 2023. June accounted for 11 days of heat waves, April six, May three and July one day of heatwave. AP experienced the highest number of heatwave days in south India during 2023, recording three deaths, with the maximum temperature going above 46°C.
There had been no deaths due to heatwaves in AP in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
In contrast, the IMD has forecast that north coastal AP will witness thunderstorms in another two days for a period of four days due to a trough running from east Vidarbha to north Tamil Nadu across Telangana and Rayalaseema 0.9 km above mean sea level.
A cyclonic circulation is also lying 0.9 km above mean sea level over north interior Karnataka and neighbourhood. Another trough 0.9 km above mean sea level from interior Odisha to east central Arabian Sea across south Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Karnataka has become less marked.
