The Kerala government has asked all schools and colleges to shut till Monday due to the scorching heat. The state has asked people to limit exposure to the sun and take care to prevent wildfires.
This comes after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast an unusually high number of heatwave days in April to June period. Most of India is reeling under unusually high temperatures as the country undergoes the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
According to IMD, Kerala recorded five heatwave days in April. Several districts in the state issued heatwave warnings, after which the government asked all educational institutions to shut till Monday. As per local media, at least two people have died in Kerala this week but the authorities are yet to confirm if their death was due to extreme heat.
On Thursday, temperature in Thiruvananthapuram touched 35 degree Celsius but the IMD said it felt like 46 degree Celsius due to high humidity.
The IMD, on Wednesday, said that fewer thunderstorms and an anti-cyclonic circulation near India's southeastern coast were causing heatwaves. The IMD said that El Nino years typically have more heating, with hot and dry weather in Asia and heavier rains in parts of the Americas.
The weather department, on Thursday, said that heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are likely in many pockets of Gangetic West Bengal, isolated pockets of Bihar and heatwave conditions very likely in Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Saurashtra & Kutch, Gujarat region, Coastal Andhra Pradesh & Yanam, Rayalaseema, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal, Kerala & Mahe and interior Karnataka on 02nd May, 2024.
(With Reuters inputs)