Monday Feels Like May Already At 43.8

Bhopal: The city recorded its hottest April day in the past six years on Monday, with the maximum temperature rising to 43.8 degrees, surpassing Sunday's 43.0 degrees, which was already the highest in three years. The soaring mercury has pushed Bhopal into intense heatwave-like conditions, even as Met officials said the sky is likely to remain partly cloudy over the next few days.On Sunday, the maximum temperature settled at 43.0 degrees, around 2 degrees above normal, making it only the third instance in the past decade when April temperatures touched the 43-degree mark. Previously, the city recorded 43.7 degrees in 2019 and 43.3 degrees in 2022. Despite the rising temperatures, brief weather changes were witnessed in parts of the city, with cloud cover and light rainfall reported in isolated areas. However, the overall trend continues to indicate extreme heat, with the weather department issuing a heatwave warning for Tuesday in districts including Chhindwara, Khandwa, Balaghat and Pandhurna.Across the state, Khajuraho in Chhatarpur recorded the highest maximum temperature of 45 degrees in the past 24 hours, while Pachmarhi remained the coolest with a minimum temperature of 14.6 degrees.During the last 24 hours, rainfall was recorded at isolated places in Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain and Sagar divisions. Maximum temperatures remained above normal by 1.9 to 3.0 degrees in several divisions, including Bhopal, Gwalior, Chambal, Rewa, Jabalpur and Sagar. Minimum temperatures showed no significant change but stayed above normal in parts of Chambal, Rewa and Jabalpur divisions, and were appreciably higher in Gwalior and Shahdol divisions.Met officials said fluctuating conditions, including cloudiness and rainfall, may offer brief relief, but heatwave conditions are likely to persist in parts of the state. The city is now bracing for one of the harshest summers in recent years.