Patna: It has been an unusually warm Holi with the maximum temperature at 33.3°C on the festive day, a good 4°C above normal. It climbed to 33.5°C on Saturday making the city stare at an early summer.

The temperature has been showing a sharp increase over the past few days. The maximum crossed 30°C in February last week and went up to 32.6°C on March 1, 5°C above normal.

The minimum temperature has also been pegged between 3 and 5°C above normal over the past few days.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast for the next five days states that the maximum temperatures are likely to continue to be above normal by 2 or 3°C over eastern parts of India, including Bihar and Patna.

"If the maximum temperature crosses 35°C, we could declare that summer is here. There is still a gap of 1.5 degrees," an IMD official stationed at Patna said.

Weathermen also pointed out that the Saurashtra region in Gujarat is experiencing a heatwave. IMD scientist Anand Shankar, who is based in Patna, said: "Winter is gone and the temperature is gradually rising. To add to it, westerly wind is set from ground to upper layers of the atmosphere. Moisture incursion is also low. These reasons, cumulatively, are responsible for the maximum and minimum temperatures running above normal."

Shankar also added that summer onset could be considered only if the maximum temperature crosses 35°C and said: "Till then, it's spring season."

However, people in Patna are complaining about the heat. "It used to be cold till 15 days ago. Now it is so hot. We need to acclimatise ourselves. It's difficult to venture out without an umbrella or covering our face with dupatta or wearing sunglasses. We are worried if this is the situation in March first week, what would it be like in May," said Himani Singh.

The IMD seasonal outlook for temperatures also forecast that the pre-monsoon season - March to May 2018 - will see warmer-than-normal temperatures in almost all meteorological sub-divisions of the country, and normal to above-normal heatwave conditions are likely over the core heat wave zone of the country, which includes Bihar.

However, there could be some respite on March 5, as thunderstorm, dust storm or light rain is expected as predicted by the IMD. If this happens, there could be some respite for a couple of days.