New Delhi, Mar 1: The Indian Meteorological Department has warned of a scorching summer ahead, predicting the temperature to soar at 1.5 degree celsius above normal. IMD chief D Shivanand Pai has cited global warming for summer blaze, claiming there is "no other large scale signal" which could be attributed to the extreme hot weather predicted between March to May.

The regions of Jammu, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh will witness the temperature to surge at 2.3 degree celsius above normal, whereas, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are expected to soar at 1.5 degree higher than usual.

The quarterly forecast, released by Met Department on Wednesday, also predicted the core heat-wave prone regions to hit the maximum-temperature mark.

According to the Gandhinagar-based Institute of Public Health, over 4,600 people were killed in heat-waves between the months of March-June in the past four years.

The regions falling under the heat-wave belt are: Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, central Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, western Maharashtra and coastal Andhra Pradesh.

In southern parts of India, the temperature between March to May is expected to remain 0.5 degree celsius above normal. In coastal Maharashtra, including Mumbai and Konkan belt, the temperature would soar at 0.7 degree above normal.

The IMD forecast, apart from predicting a scorching summer ahead, also notes a positive trend for the upcoming monsoon. The weather department said the moderate La Nina conditions over equatorial Pacific would assist in normal to above-normal monsoon this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2018 01:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).