India Weather: From mountains to plains, scorching heat in the month of May broke 36 years of record

New Delhi: Lok Sabha elections were held in the country in the last 6 weeks. During this time, most of the states of the country experienced severe heat. The Election Commission also expressed concern about this. At the same time, the Meteorological Department has released shocking figures about the heat in May. According to the Meteorological Department, this year the month of May was the hottest in 36 years. That is, the heat in May broke the record of the last 36 years. This year, the maximum temperature was recorded very high in both April and May and records were broken at many stations.

Record breaking heat in April

The average maximum temperature for the month of April across India this year was 35.6 degrees Celsius. This was higher than the temperatures seen in the election years of 2004 (35 degrees Celsius), 2009 (35.5 degrees Celsius) and 2014 (35.3 degrees Celsius), but slightly lower than the record 35.7 degrees Celsius recorded in 2019.

Such intense heat in May after 36 years

The average maximum temperature in May this year was 37.3 degrees Celsius, the highest since May 1988, when the average maximum temperature was 37.4 degrees Celsius. According to weather department data, several stations broke previous records in May. On May 31, Alwar recorded 46.5 degrees Celsius, the fourth highest temperature there. On the same day, Bilaspur recorded 46.8 degrees Celsius, the fifth highest temperature there in May. Bulandshahr recorded 46 degrees Celsius, the second highest temperature there in May.

Even the hill station Dehradun recently recorded a temperature of 43.2 degrees Celsius, which is the third highest temperature ever recorded in May. The areas of South India experienced more heat right from the beginning. But later, unbearable heat was felt in North India.

What is the reason for so much heat in May?

Director General of the Meteorological Department Mrityunjay Mahapatra said, ‘During early summer (March to April), areas like Maharashtra, Gujarat and southern peninsular areas have high temperatures because during that time the sun is directly above these areas, due to which there is strong sunlight. This situation changes when the sun moves north. ‘ he/she said that in the later days (May to June) the sun is almost directly above northern India, due to which there is a lot of heat in these areas. IMD had already predicted that the day temperature in most parts of the country will be above normal.

Voting was low due to extreme heat

Political analyst Vivek Singh Baghri said that as seen this time, high temperature is a big factor affecting the voting percentage, which leads to low voting. Along with the common voters, the upper-middle class voters also avoid voting during extreme heat or cold. Many parts of the country recorded temperatures above 40-45 degrees Celsius in April as well as May. However, there may be other reasons behind the low voting.