India is likely to experience more heat wave days than normal between April and June, the weather office said on Monday.
The maximum temperature between April to June is likely to remain above normal, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department, told a virtual news conference.
A heat wave for the third year in a row could dent production of wheat, rapeseed, and chickpeas, and also lift power demand above supply during the summer season. India is the world’s second-largest wheat producer.
In the April-June period various parts of the country could record 10 to 20 heat-wave days compared to the normal four to eight days, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told a virtual news conference
The extreme weather could also impact India’s parliamentary election, the world’s largest, which is being held over nearly seven weeks from April 19th. Nearly one billion people will be eligible to vote and election campaigning has already begun.
