Hyderabad: With only a fortnight left before the summer season formally comes to an end, an intense heatwave has gripped Telanga and Andhra Pradesh with mercury shooting up to more than 46 degrees Celsius in many places.
According to the weather bulletin of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Kothagudem and Khammam were the hottest places in Telangana on Wednesday; a maximum temperature of 46.4 degree Celsius was recorded in both areas.
Mercury touched a high of 44C in Nalgonda, Adilabad and Mancherial, and 43C in Warangal and Karimnagar.
For the state capital, Hyderabad, also it was one of the hottest days as the mercury crossed 42C for the second consecutive day. Most of the city roads wore a deserted look as the people stayed indoors to avoid exposure to the heat and sun stroke.
In Andhra Pradesh, where hot winds kept people confined to their homes, Vijayawada was among the hottest places with maximum temperatures of 46C. Guntur and Eluru recorded the equally high temperatures. City roads wore a deserted look as people remained indoors to avoid exposure to the heat. Rajahmundry and Ongole recorded 45C, Kadapa 44 and Nellore and Tirupati recorded 43C on Wednesday.
Weather officials said that the temperatures were four to five degrees Celsius above normal. “A heatwave-like situation is prevailing in both the states,” said YK Reddy, director, IMD Hyderabad. He hoped however the situation would ease and the heatwave would abate from Thursday onwards.
In the case of Andhra Pradesh, maximum temperatures during the day were five to eight degrees above normal.
The death toll due to heat exposure this year in Telangana has already crossed 100 and the authorities have warned people against venturing out of their homes between 12 and 4pm.
The monsoon usually reaches Telangana in the first week of June after entering Kerala on June 1. However, there are hopes of its early arrival as IMD has forecast that the monsoon may enter Kerala two days before schedule. The weather office has also forecast a spell of rain over Hyderabad in the evening hours bringing some relief.
