PANAJI
In some respite to the local residents, the weatherman has predicted that the month of May might not be as hot and wet as April was in Western India including Goa.
The current heat waves may persist only up to May 2, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
Goa is not among the list of States like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab in North-western India where heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are expected to be experienced during May, the IMD said.
IMD Director Dr M Mohapatra said nights would be warmer in May in most parts of the country, except some regions of south peninsular India.
The average temperatures observed pan-India for April was 35.05 degrees, which was the fourth highest in 122 years, he said.
As for rainfall, Goa recorded in April 52 mm of rainfall, which is the sixth highest for the month in 120 years. The highest April rainfall in Goa in these 120 years was 229 mm in 1937. The normal average rainfall in April for Goa is 7.5 mm.
The rainfall forecast for May, according to IMD is low.
Mohapatra said, normal to above normal rainfall is likely over most parts of the country, except the northwest region of India which includes Goa.
"The average rainfall in May 2022 over the country is most likely to be above normal," he said.
However, parts of northwest and northeast India as well as the extreme southeast Peninsula are expected to get below normal rainfall in May, he said.
The high temperatures in March and April were attributed to "continuously scanty rainfall activity", he said.
In March, northwest India recorded a deficit in rainfall of around 89 per cent, while the deficit was nearly 83 per cent in April, mainly on account of feeble and dry western disturbances, Mohapatra said.
Many are attributing the unusual weather of April as early warning signs of the ominous impacts of Climate Change but the IMD says it is "too premature" to attribute it to the global phenomenon.
The intermittent rains in April and the unusually high temperatures, meanwhile, have had a devastating impact on Goa's horticulture harvest season, badly impacting the cashew and mango crop.
