The average temperature in most parts of north India and northwest India are expected to remain above normal during April, May and June this year, the India Meteorological Department warned on Sunday. In March, temperatures had already crossed 40 degrees Celsius in several parts of India.

The India Meteorological Department does not consider March a part of summer season – April to June is considered the actual summer.

The weather department, however, said the temperatures in east, east-central and southern India, including Odisha, Telangana and coastal Andhra Pradesh, will be lower than usual. The India Meteorological Department said thunderstorms in these regions will keep them cooler, indicating that the onset of monsoon will be on time.

The India Meteorological Department and other weather institutes had recorded 2017 as the hottest year so far, PTI reported. The agency said the season average temperatures in April to June period in most of the meteorological subdivisions are likely to be cooler than in 2017.

However, normal heatwave-like conditions will prevail over the country’s core heatwave zone. Central and northern India are generally considered the core heatwave zones.

“North India is expected to be mainly dry with clear skies and anti-cyclonic winds that raise temperatures,” The Times of India quoted D Sivananda Pai, head of the agency’s long-ranging forecasting division, as saying. “The higher than normal temperatures there seem to be linked with global warming signals. Maximum temperatures in south and east India could be closer to normal, indicating cloudiness and good pre-monsoon showers in these regions.”