Though summer has been accompanied by unbearable heat in Telangana for the past few years, an Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) summer bulletin suggests that this year, the summer months may see mellower temperatures.
Though the weather will likely remain dry in the state during the next five days, the IMD bulletin suggests that the intensity of the heat may well drop this year.
The head of the Meteorological Centre in Hyderabad, K Nagaratna, said though the average maximum and minimum temperatures were likely to be below normal, the state would still report several moderate to severe heat waves in the next few months because of its location in the "heat wave zone of India".
Keeping in mind the likelihood of the occurrence of heat waves this year as well, the Telangana disaster management authority issued a set of precautionary measures to avoid heat strokes (the state had reported 1,952 deaths due to heatstroke between 2008 and 2020).
These include limiting sun and heat exposure, wearing white /light cotton clothes, wearing caps/handkerchiefs to protect the head from heat, and drinking salted buttermilk, glucose, lemon juice or coconut water to keep oneself dehydrated.
Despite the projected drop in the intensity of the heat this summer, the rising mercury has
pushed up power consumption in the state to new highs. On February 26, a record 260.98 million units of electricity were used up out of which Hyderabad alone used up 49 million units.