Don’t forget to fill in your water bottles this Summer! IMD warns ‘above normal’ temperatures across India

New Delhi, April 2: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has today warned citizens to stay hydrated and indoors in lieu of the ‘above normal’ temperatures pan India.

However, in Odisha, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana there might be slight respite with monsoon predicted to be on time. The mercury level has already surged with temperatures soaring up to 40 degrees Celsius in part of the nation which includes Delhi.

"Upcoming Hot Weather Season (April to June) is expected to have the above normal sub-divisional average seasonal temperatures over most of the meteorological subdivisions of the country except the subdivisions of eastern, east central and southern parts for the country that are likely to experience slightly below normal seasonal temperatures," the IMD said in a bulletin.

IMD Director-General K J Ramesh said thunderstorms in east, east-central and southern India will keep these parts generally cooler.

"This is also an indication that the onset of monsoon will be on time," M Rajeevan, secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, said.

"The hot weather seasonal average temperatures in most of the (meteorological) subdivisions are likely to be cooler than that of last year. Normal heatwave conditions are likely over core heat-wave zone of the country," the IMD bulletin added.

According to a government data released last year, 4,624 people died due to heat-wave between 2013 and 2017, of which 92 percent of casualties were reported from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.