The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday projected an above-normal number of heatwave days across most parts of the country between March and May in its latest monthly forecast.
Regions likely to witness more heatwave days include West Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, south and east Maharashtra, east Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and parts of north Karnataka and north Tamil Nadu.
For March, however, the IMD indicated that maximum temperatures across large parts of India are expected to remain normal to below normal. Exceptions may include the northeast, eastern India, and certain areas of the Western Himalayan region, as well as parts of central and peninsular India.
"This could be because rainfall averaged over India is most likely to be normal during March,” the IMD said.
The weather office also noted that nationwide rainfall in February was the lowest recorded since 2001.
"No cold wave was recorded across the country during February," it said.