MUMBAI – India is likely to experience more heatwave days than normal between April and June, the weather office said on April 1, potentially hitting agricultural production and hampering government efforts to bring down food inflation.
A heatwave for a third year in a row could dent production of wheat, rapeseed and chickpeas, and also lift power demand above supply during the summer season. India is the world’s second-largest wheat producer.
In the April-to-June period, various parts of India could record 10 to 20 heatwave days compared with the normal four to eight days, Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department, told reporters.
The extreme weather could also impact India’s parliamentary election, the world’s largest, which is being held over nearly seven weeks from April 19. Nearly one billion people will be eligible to vote, and election campaigning has already begun.
Voters will be exposed to the heatwaves and will need to take precautions according to the various advisories already issued, said Mr Kiren Rijiju, India’s Minister for Earth Sciences.
“During the election in India, people will come out for election rallies, meetings... There will be heavy activity all across the country.”
In April, the crucial month for winter-sown crops coming to maturity, above-normal maximum temperatures are likely across most parts of the country, said Dr Mohapatra.
Most of the wheat harvested during this period is in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, while in the northern states, the crop is in the grain formation stage and the harvesting comes later, he said.
A heatwave curtailed India’s wheat production in 2022, forcing it to ban exports.
Power demand usually spikes during the summer season, and to ensure undisrupted supply, maintenance schedules of power generation stations have either been deferred or have already been completed, said a government official.
India’s Power Ministry has asked the state-run National Thermal Power Corporation to secure additional gas supplies in case of a surge in demand, the official added. REUTERS
