IMD to rewrite heatwave rules as Kerala suffers hotter nights and humidity mismatch

Kerala nights hit 3 to 4 degrees above normal

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says it will revise its criteria for declaring heatwave conditions because the current parameters do not match India’s diverse geography. Kerala has struggled with warnings during a summer marked by severe heat and unusual humidity, including an anti-cyclone system forming unusually far south that kept nights unusually hot. IMD says night temperatures were 3 to 4 degrees Celsius above normal, and heatwave alerts were limited by station and threshold rules. Changes will be finalized after consulting disaster management authorities.