Ahmedabad: Gujarat has emerged as one of the hottest regions in the country this week. According to the national bulletin of the India meteorological department, Rajkot recorded 42°C on Tuesday — the highest maximum temperature among all IMD weather stations in the country. The weather in the state remained scorching on Wednesday as well, with Vallabh Vidyanagar recording the highest maximum temperature of 42.3°C.The IMD national bulletin also showed that most parts of Gujarat, except some eastern areas bordering Madhya Pradesh, recorded maximum temperatures above the 90th percentile for India on Tuesday. Several locations in Saurashtra and central Gujarat were even above the 95th and 98th percentile levels, indicating one of the highest concentrations of extreme temperatures in the country.The heat persisted on Wednesday, with most regions in Gujarat recording daytime temperatures above 38°C. Other parts of India experiencing similar conditions included western Rajasthan and parts of eastern Maharashtra.In Ahmedabad, the maximum temperature reached 41.4°C on Wednesday, 7.2 degrees above the normal level for this time of year. The minimum temperature was also unusually high at 22.5°C, about 4.6 degrees above normal. On Thursday, the maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be around 41°C and 24°C respectively. “Apart from the high temperatures, the departure from normal is also significant. In places like Rajkot and Ahmedabad, the temperature is about 7 degrees above normal, which indicates severe heat conditions even though the summer season has just begun,” an IMD official said.Officials of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and physicians have advised residents to take precautions during the afternoon hours. Citizens have been urged to stay hydrated, wear light clothes, cover their heads and take frequent breaks if working outdoors in direct sunlight. The IMD issued an orange alert for severe heatwave conditions in Surendranagar and Rajkot districts on Thursday, and a yellow alert for heatwave conditions in Banaskantha, Patan, Vadodara, Surat, Porbandar, Junagadh, Amreli, Morbi, and Kutch. Hot and humid air conditions are likely to prevail across the coastal regions of the state, according to the forecast.Meteorologists earlier said the sharp rise in temperatures was due to northerly to north-easterly winds prevailing over the region. Some relief from the heat is expected from Saturday onwards.
