The India Meteorological Department on Sunday said that the heatwave conditions in northwest, central and east India were likely to continue with reduced intensity over the next three days.

The country has been in the grip of a heatwave over the past few weeks. Since May 17, heatwave conditions prevailed in Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Rajasthan. Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have seen temperatures soaring since May 18.

Several states also reported deaths due to heat-related illnesses.

On Sunday, the weather agency said that no significant changes were likely in the maximum temperatures over the next three days in northwest India and during the next 48 hours over west India. Following that, mercury is likely to fall by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius in both regions.

No significant changes were likely in the maximum temperature over the rest of the country, said the India Meteorological Department.

It said that Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi city saw the highest maximum temperature at 46.9 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

On May 29, a weather station at Mungeshpur in Delhi recorded an ambient temperature of 52.3 degrees Celsius, which was the highest temperature ever recorded in the country. On May 31, Maharashtra’s Nagpur recorded a temperature of 56 degrees Celsius. However, the weather agency attributed both numbers to likely errors in its sensors.

The India Meteorological Department on Sunday also said that the southwest monsoon had advanced further into the central Arabian Sea and the remaining parts of Lakshadweep, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The southwest monsoon had advanced into some parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the Bay of Bengal, the weather agency said, adding that conditions were favourable for it to advance further into these regions over the next two to three days.