Rajkot Hits 40.4°C in October; Assam, Meghalaya 5°C Above Normal
Image: DeshGujarat (file)
Rajkot in Gujarat recorded 40.4°C on Wednesday, 21 October, the highest maximum temperature in the country, according to the India Meteorological Department’s daily bulletin. Parts of Assam and Meghalaya had maximums more than 5.1°C above normal on the same day, Down To Earth reported. The bulletin expects no significant change in central, western and northeastern India, though Konkan and Goa stay hot and humid. Rajkot had touched 40.6°C a day earlier, on 20 October.
Warm Nights Across the Northeast
Daytime heat is only part of it. Minimum temperatures were significantly above normal in parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and western Madhya Pradesh, so nights bring less relief than usual for late October. The coolest plains station named in the bulletin was Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, at 11.1°C, which shows how wide the gap is between the hills and the plains of Gujarat and Assam.
Gujarat Has Been Hot Since Mid-October
Gujarat has not seen a sudden spike. DeshGujarat reported on 15 October, citing IMD data, that Deesa reached 40.2°C (3.4°C above normal) and Bhuj 40.0°C (3.1°C above normal), with Ahmedabad at 38.2°C, Vadodara at 37.6°C and Surat at 37.5°C. Night temperatures were also above normal, with Ahmedabad’s minimum at 26.6°C, 4.4°C above normal. The reports carry no heatwave warning for the state.
No Relief in the Forecast Yet
The western disturbance due from 24 October is aimed at northwest India, so it does not change the picture for Gujarat or the Northeast, as our report on Punjab and Haryana explains. The south is wetter: Tamil Nadu is under an orange alert, covered in our Chennai rain report. IMD’s next daily bulletin will show whether Rajkot stays above 40°C.
Source: IMD all-India weather bulletin. Also based on reporting by Down To Earth and DeshGujarat.
Image: DeshGujarat (file).
