New Delhi: At least 26 weather stations recorded maximum temperatures equal to or above 43 degrees Celsius in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh amid persisting heatwave conditions on Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Temperatures soared to a blistering 45.6 degrees Celsius in Gujarat’s Kandla, the highest in the country for the day.
Rajkot recorded 45.2 degrees Celsius, Amreli 44.3 degrees Celsius and Surendranagar 43.8 degrees Celsius. Porbandar, a coastal city, reported an unusually-high 43 degrees Celsius, 8.8 notches above normal. Deesa and Ahmedabad also recorded temperatures above 43 degrees Celsius.
In Rajasthan, Pilani recorded 44.9 degrees Celsius, Phalodi and Churu touched 43.8 degrees Celsius and 43.5 degrees Celsius respectively, while Bikaner and Jaipur registered 43.4 degrees Celsius and 43 degrees Celsius.
Many of these places reported temperature departures of six to eight degrees above normal.
In Maharashtra, Akola and Jalgaon both reported a maximum temperature of 43.7 degrees Celsius, while Malegaon recorded 43.2 degrees Celsius.
Central India was not spared either. Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh recorded
44.2 degrees Celsius, 6.3 notches above normal, while Hoshangabad touched 43.2 degrees Celsius.