Be alert for this summer

Hyderabad March 1: Be alert for this summer season, as the temperature is going to rises above normal temperature across the country, according to the officials of India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Several states are likely to witness heatwave conditions, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its summer forecast for the season (March to May).

The IMD said that the northwest region of the country would be the worst affected with temperatures of more than one degree Celsius above normal.

In the rest of the country, temperatures are likely to be a degree Celsius above normal.

2016 has been recorded as the hottest year since 1901. Phalodi in Rajasthan recorded 51 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded in the country.

Last year, more than 1,600 people died due to extreme climate conditions. Of them, 700 died due to heatwave conditions+ . This included over 400 deaths in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

This January has been recorded as the eighth warmest since 1901.

"The country averaged monthly mean temperature during January 2017 was also significantly above normal with anomalies of 0.67 degree Celsius, which is the warmest ever since 1901," the IMD said.