New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department said on Friday that the summer season in India is likely to have a very hot start this year and El Nino conditions are expected to persist throughout the season.
They said that heat wave is expected to last for more days than normal in North-East Peninsular India-Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and North Interior Karnataka and many parts of Maharashtra and Odisha. The department said the country may receive above normal rainfall (more than 117 per cent of the long-term average of 29.9 mm) in March.
Director General of the department Mrityunjay Mohapatra told the press conference that in most parts of India, the maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be above normal between March and May. He said that there is no possibility of heat wave in North and Central India in March.
Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held in April-May. Mohapatra said El Nino (periodic warming of sea water in the central Pacific Ocean) will persist throughout the summer season and may be followed by neutral conditions. La Nina conditions are likely to form in the latter half of the monsoon. It is usually associated with good monsoon rainfall in India.