The extremely severe cyclonic storm ‘Fani’, which hit the Odisha coast near Puri on Friday, seems to have provided no respite to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh from the heat as temperatures have shot up.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued a 3-day heatwave warning that will be in place till 8.30 am on May 8.
“Severe heat wave conditions very likely to prevail over some parts in the districts of Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore and heatwave conditions to prevail over parts of Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and West Godavari in coastal Andhra Pradesh,” the IMD said.
Meanwhile, weather forecasters also said that heatwave conditions were also very likely to prevail in some parts of Kurnool, Kadapa and Chittoor in the state’s Rayalaseema region for the next two days.
Officials said that the steep rise in temperature was due to Cyclone Fani taking away the moisture content in the air as it travelled close to the Andhra Pradesh coast, while it made its way to Odisha.
The maximum temperature in many parts of the state remained above 40 degrees on Saturday, with the coastal town of Machilipatnam sizzling at 43.5 degrees, a variation of a staggering 7.2 degree Celsius from normal, while Bapatla registered a maximum temperature of 42.8 degrees, a variation of 6.9 degree Celsius from normal.
Vijayawada saw temperatures rise to 43.6 degrees, a variation of 4.4 degree from normal, while the maximum temperature in Visakhapatnam was 34.1 degrees.
The state’s Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) has also issued a warning to residents to take precautions and to avoid going out in the sun between 12 noon and 3 pm.
Cyclone Fani had triggered heavy rains in parts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts. Srikakulam district bore the brunt of the damage as gusty winds with speeds of up to 140 km per hour uprooted trees and electricity poles, affecting power supply and road transport.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu told reporters after a review meeting in the state capital Amaravati that 733 villages were affected and restoration works were completed in 408 villages by Friday evening. The CM said officials undertook restoration works, including clearing of roads, on a war footing in the affected villages. According to initial estimates, the state suffered damages worth Rs 10 crore.
With IANS inputs