The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a rainfall alert for northeastern states and West Bengal as voting is underway in Phase 3 of the Lok Sabha Elections. Heavy rain and gusty winds drenched Kolkata and other districts in the region on Monday, bringing down temperatures significantly. The Met Department has predicted that thunderstorms are likely to continue in the region over the next few days.
Meanwhile, the weather department has issued an orange alert for a heatwave in most of the 14 Karnataka districts where polling is underway in Lok Sabha constituencies on May 7. The Election Commission has made arrangements to mitigate the heat in polling centers, hoping that voter turnout will not be affected by the weather conditions. The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) has issued a red alert for five districts – Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad, Haveri, and Koppal – till May 9. Bengaluru could experience light rain in the coming days.
In Odisha, thunderstorms and rain have brought respite from the heatwave in some areas, although some places recorded temperatures of 43 degrees Celsius on Monday. The IMD said that thunderstorms with rain would continue in the state for another four days. Bolangir town in western Odisha recorded a temperature of 44.5 degrees C and became the hottest place in the state for the day on Monday.
The IMD officials in Rajasthan have stated that from May 7 to 10, there will be a heatwave with the possibility of loo following the hot weather conditions. On the other hand, from May 10 to 11, light rain is possible in some regions.
According to the weather department, most of the districts in Tamil Nadu have been recording above-normal temperatures. The heatwave conditions will likely continue to prevail in the eastern and southern states until May 9.
