New Delhi

Severe heatwave conditions, exceeding a blistering 45 degrees Celsius, were observed in some parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that Barmer in Rajasthan and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh experienced a scorching high of 46.9 degrees Celsius.

Surendranagar and Deesa in Gujarat also recorded temperatures ranging between 45 and 45.5 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

"Today, heatwave to severe heatwave conditions were observed in some parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat. Heatwave conditions in many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi; in isolated pockets of Madhya Pradesh," IMD said in a post on X.

IMD had on Saturday forecast a heatwave and severe heatwave conditions across vast swathes of North India, including several parts of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi, between May 17 and 21.

While a red alert for severe heatwaves was issued for west Rajasthan, an orange alert was also issued for Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, East Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat.

A yellow alert for a heatwave-like condition was issued as well for Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, and Odisha.

An area is considered to be in the grip of a heatwave if the maximum temperature at a weather station reaches at least 40°C and at least 30°C or more for hilly regions.

 In the meanwhile, the IMD predicts heavy rainfall in Kerala for the next five days and issued a red alert in three districts of the state for May 19 and 20.

The weather department has issued a red alert in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, and Idukki districts of the state.

Additionally, an orange alert was issued for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, and Ernakulam for those two days.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely to continue over south peninsular India till May 23, with extremely heavy falls during May 19-21, according to the IMD forecast.

Isoted heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala, and Mahe on May 18 and 22, and South Interior Karnataka on May 18-20, the IMD said.

According to the IMD data issued last week, the southwest monsoon is likely to hit Kerala on May 31.

 Southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala on June 1 with a standard deviation of about seven days. This year, the southwest monsoon is likely to set in over Kerala on May 31," the IMD said in a release.