MUMBAI/NEW DELHI – India is likely to experience heatwave between March and May, especially in the key wheat producing central and northern states, the weather office said on Tuesday.
The country has already recorded its highest maximum temperature in February.
A heatwave for the second straight year could dent production of wheat, rapeseed and chickpeas, and complicate government efforts to bring down food inflation.
Higher temperatures could also lift power consumption above supplies during the summer season.
“Enhanced probability of occurrence of heatwave during March to May season is likely over many regions of Central and adjoining North-west India,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement.
In March, the crucial month for the maturity of winter-sown crops, above normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of the country except peninsular India, it said.
“Wheat crop has already been witnessing stress due to higher temperature. Warmer March would definitely lead to yield loss,” said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house.
India grows only one wheat crop in a year, with planting in October and November, and harvesting from March.
A heatwave curtailed India’s wheat production in 2022 and forced the world’s second-largest producer to ban exports.
The average maximum temperature in February was 29.54 deg C, the highest since 1901, when the IMD started keeping weather records.
The country received 68 per cent lower rainfall than normal in February, the weather office said.
Government officials warned last year that the South Asian country could see more frequent heatwaves in future and that average temperatures, even during the monsoon season, have been rising over the last two decades.
“Temperatures have already touched unusual highs at some places in the country,” India’s health ministry said in a letter, seen by Reuters, sent to all states and union territories on Tuesday.
The government directed health departments across the country to implement “heat-related health action plans”. REUTERS
