IMD Flags Orange Alert for Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha as Heatwaves Grip India

As a part of India swelters in heat, India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist Akhil Srivastava told ANI on April 28 while giving a weather alert for northern, eastern and western regions of India. Srivastava said thunderstorm activity is expected in Punjab and Haryana over the coming days, which may lead to a drop in temperatures by 2-4 degrees Celsius.

He added that an orange alert for thunderstorms has been issued for Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand, while heavy to heavy rainfall is likely in northeastern India over the next week.

Northern Weather System Impact

On heatwave conditions and rainfall in the coming days, Srivastava mentioned to ANI that heatwave conditions were likely in parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada, but were expected to ease thereafter. He added that eastern India, including Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha, was under an orange alert for severe thunderstorms with wind speeds up to 60 km/h and possible hail. He further said northeastern states were likely to receive heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over the next week, with red alerts issued for Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

“In the northern region, a heatwave has been prevailing for the past 15 days. However, due to a western disturbance centred around 66 degrees East longitude, thunderstorm activity is expected in the Western Himalayas and adjoining plains. Alerts have been issued for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for thunderstorms with wind speeds of up to 60 km/h, leading to a drop in maximum temperatures by 2-4 degrees Celsius over the next three days,” Srivastava told ANI.

Citing Srivastava, ANI also reported that the NCR region is expected to witness a dip in temperatures, accompanied by light rainfall and wind speeds of up to 50 km/h, bringing maximum temperatures down to around 38 degrees Celsius.

Workplace Heatwave Advisory

On April 27, the Union Health Secretary and health ministries have directed all states and union territories, placing special emphasis on ensuring adequate rest and cooling measures for outdoor and factory workers.

The labour and employment ministry said in an advisory to state and UT chief secretaries that the establishments should be allowed to reschedule working hours, enhance manpower to divide the workload and provide adequate rest and cooling measures, especially for factory, mine and construction workers.