Ahmedabad: Summer has begun to hit hard as mercury continues to inch upwards each day since Saturday. On Monday, Ahmedabad was the fifth hottest city in the state, recording 41°C. At 42.4°C, Rajkot was the hottest followed by Amreli (41.7°C), Surendranagar (41.5°C) and Vadodara (41.4°C). Nearly half of the weather stations in Gujarat recorded maximum temperatures around 40 degrees. And, the weather office says that things will remain this way at least for a week, with no major change in the maximum temperature.Ahmedabad’s maximum temperature was 1.6 degrees above normal, whereas its minimum temperature of 23.5°C was 0.3 degree below normal. Relative humidity (RH) went down by 25%, leaving Amdavadis without a moisture cushion.Traffic thinned out during the afternoon as more people avoided exposure to the harsh sun. Physicians have advised people to stay hydrated and cover their heads while venturing out to reduce chances of heat shock in the early phase of summer.IMD’s bulletin indicated the presence of an upper air cyclonic circulation over southeast Pakistan and adjoining Rajasthan on Monday. Heatwave conditions prevailed in some pockets of Kutch. The IMD has forecast chances of hot and humid air across Gujarat’s coastal regions this week.Western Disturbance in late March and early April resulted in less-than-normal temperatures. Saturday recorded a temperature above 40 degrees after a month.
