In no respite to north Indians from the scorching heat, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued a red warning for areas including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Rajasthan for the next two days.
The weather agency has said that heatwaves will continue in these states for the next two days.
"Heatwave conditions over some parts with a severe heatwave over isolated pockets are very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Telangana during the next five days," the IMD said in its daily bulletin.
IMD also issued an orange warning for a heatwave in east Uttar Pradesh. Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre, informed that temperatures could soar up to 47 degrees Celsius in some parts over the next 2-3 days.
Most regions in north India are already witnessing temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius.
Some relief is expected on May 29 as a western disturbance is likely to bring rains in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, after which the temperature is expected to drop in Delhi NCR and adjoining states.
This season, the temperatures did not rise the way it usually does in the north and central India because of significant rainfall activity during April that continued till mid-May.
Naresh Kumar, a scientist with the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the IMD, said due to dry north-westerly winds and a trough between Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, conditions are favourable for heatwave to severe heatwave. He said that relief is expected after May 28 as a western disturbance is likely to bring some rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi-NCR, with temperature falling slightly.
