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Informist, Monday, May 4, 2026

MUMBAI – Widespread pre-monsoon rainfall and thunderstorms have brought relief from soaring temperatures across the country, private weather forecasting agency Skymet said. These conditions are likely to persist, keeping temperatures largely under control and reducing the risk of heatwaves till at least May 15, though some pockets of Rajasthan and Gujarat could experience hot weather during the period, the weather agency said.

Active pre-monsoon conditions have prevailed over many parts of the country, with rainfall and thunderstorms lashing Punjab, Haryana, east Rajasthan, central and east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha. Parts of Andhra Pradesh, south interior Karnataka, and Kerala have also received a fair amount of rainfall and thundershowers. Northeast India, along with Sikkim and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, has had persistent heavy weather activity since last week.

Maximum temperatures in these regions have dropped to as low as 25–27 degrees Celsius, the weather agency said. High temperatures have been limited to parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and west Rajasthan so far. Though temperatures in these subdivisions are in excess of 40 degrees Celsius, they do not amount to heatwave conditions. Currently, only a few pockets of Vidarbha are recording heatwave conditions, which is also likely to abate soon, the agency said.

A heatwave is declared when the day temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius or above, provided that the departure from normal is 4.5 degrees Celsius or more. Parts of Gujarat, West Rajasthan, and Vidarbha, which are most susceptible to heatwaves, have normal maximum temperatures of 41–43 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in Chandrapur, Vidarbha, last week was 44.6 degrees Celsius, which is about 2 degrees Celsius above normal. The maximum temperatures at Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan last week were about 44 degrees Celsius, which is around 2 degrees Celsius above normal. "So practically, none of the regions qualifies for 'true' heat wave conditions," the agency said. Maximum temperatures in some of the hottest pockets in the country, such as Banda, Prayagraj, and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, which were earlier above 45 degrees Celsius, have now dropped below 35 degrees Celsius.

Pre-monsoon rainfall and thunderstorms are expected to increase over most parts of the country till Thursday, except in parts of south and west Rajasthan, Gujarat, and the Konkan region, the weather agency said. Temperatures will remain significantly suppressed till mid-May, reducing chances of a build-up of heatwave conditions, the agency said.  End 

Reported by Shreya Shetty

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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