Heatwave conditions in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi will abate after June 25, the India Meteorological Department said on Saturday.

Parts of northern India have been in the grip of a heatwave over the past few weeks. According to the Union Ministry of Health, 110 have died due to heatstrokes in the country since March, The Indian Express reported on Friday.

The highest temperature in the country on Friday was recorded in Orai in Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun district at 44.6 degrees Celsius, the weather agency said.

On Saturday, the weather agency also issued a red alert warning for extremely heavy rainfall in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.

A red alert requires authorities to “take action” in view of an extreme weather event, while an orange alert means that the administration is expected to “be prepared”. A yellow alert means that authorities should “be updated” on the situation.

It said that extremely heavy rainfall was very likely over parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra in the next five days.

On June 18, the India Meteorological Department revised its rainfall predictions to "below normal" for June.

The weather agency predicted that the rainfall during the month across the country was likely to be less than 92% of the Long Period Average.

The Long Period Average rainfall is the mean rainfall during the four-month monsoon season over the last 50 years. The mean rainfall figure for June from 1971 to 2020 was 16.69 centimetres, the weather agency said.

On May 27, the India Meteorological Department had predicted above-normal rainfall during the monsoon as a whole, and normal rainfall in June.

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