As winter wraps up, brace for a scorching summer in Chandigarh
IMD has also calculated the anomaly for heatwave days in the country and Chandigarh is in the area that will experience the maximum heatwaves
For those thinking that summer has started early this year, the coming months are about to get worse as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above average heat from March to May in its long-range forecast (LRF).
Officials caution that it is likely that multiple heat records will be broken in this period.
The LRF uses probability models, and there is highest probability of above average maximum and minimum temperature in the city. IMD Chandigarh director Surender Paul explained that this had to do with global weather phenomena and weak La Niña conditions.
“During summer, this region gets rain due to Western Disturbances (WD) and strong WDs are not on the horizon this time,” Paul said. He added that it’s also a consequence of climate change that the world had recorded the hottest year ever in 2024, a record that will likely be broken in 2025.
IMD has also calculated the anomaly for heatwave days in the country and Chandigarh is in the area that will experience the maximum heatwaves.
Even proximity to Himachal Pradesh will not help Chandigarh, with over 15 days expected to witness heatwave conditions in the coming three months. For this region, IMD declares a heatwave when the maximum temperature is over 40°C, and also the temperature is 4.5 degrees or more above normal.
Due to an active WD currently, chances of rain are expected on Monday, but the temperatures will start rising from this week, as per Paul.
After snowfall in Himachal Pradesh, the city’s maximum temperature fell from 25.1°C on Saturday to 24.9°C on Sunday. The minimum temperature also dropped from 14.5°C to 12.2°C.
