Heat Dome Weakening: May Trigger Increased Pre-Monsoon Activity
Representational Image: AI-Skymet
Key Takeaways:
- Heat Dome conditions linked to stationary high-pressure system over Maharashtra region.
- Anticyclone is weakening and drifting, reducing extreme heat influence.
- Pre-monsoon activity likely from April 26 across many states.
- Gujarat and Konkan & Goa may continue with hot and sultry weather.
What is a Heat Dome?
A ‘Heat Dome’ is a weather phenomenon consisting of extreme heat that is caused when the atmosphere traps hot air, as if bounded by a lid or cap.
How Does a Heat Dome Occur?
Heat Dome happens when strong high-pressure atmospheric conditions remain stationary for an unspecified amount of time, preventing convection and precipitation and keeping hot air “trapped” within a region. Such upper-air weather patterns are slow to move, and are termed as “Omega Block”.
Such an anticyclone has been persisting in the medium levels of atmosphere between 10,000’ and 20,000’, over Maharashtra and adjoining parts of Telangana and North Interior Karnataka. The feature has been in place for over one week but is now showing signs of drift and weakening as well. As such, heat domes are typically associated with minimal cloud cover and clear skies, which support uninterrupted insolation and intensify overall temperatures.
The anticyclone has weakened slightly and moved over border areas of South Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. It is likely to become less marked and pave way for increased pre-monsoon activity over various parts of the country. Typical pre-monsoon activity will commence around 26th April and continue for the remaining days of the month. It may even spill over to the first week of May. The weather activity will not be simultaneous over all parts and will be more or less staggered.
During the upcoming spell of weather activity, thunderstorm/dust storms accompanied with gusty winds are likely over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Chhattisgarh will have the weather activity, more pronounced between 28th and 30th April. Northeast India is already having fairly widespread rain and thundershowers and the activity will increase in intensity and spread during fag end of April and start of May. Central and southern parts of the country will have thunderstorm activity associated with activation and oscillation of seasonal north-south trough/wind discontinuity between 27th April and 02nd May 2026. Gujarat and Konkan & Goa will have the least weather activity. These parts will continue to reel under hot and sultry conditions.
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