A week after widespread showers brought respite to Telangana including in Hyderabad, the State is once again grappling with intense heat, with several districts recording heatwave conditions even in the third week of June. 

“The reason lies in an unusually sluggish southwest monsoon and lack of widespread cloud cover that typically shields the State from summer temperatures,” said GNRS Srinivas, Senior Meteorologist at IMD Centre Hyderabad. He further added that the southwest monsoon entered Telangana on June 8, but its advance has been much slower than usual. Typically, the system covers the entire State within two to three days after entering southern Telangana. This year, nearly ten days after onset, only around half of the State has come under its influence.

According to him, atmospheric conditions over neighbouring Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh have not been favourable for further progress. Even in areas where the monsoon has advanced, moisture levels have remained inadequate and cloud formation has been limited. As a result, northern Telangana continues to experience dry northwesterly winds originating from the northern plains and Rajasthan, a weather pattern more commonly associated with May. Usually, these winds are countered by moisture-laden southwesterlies during the monsoon, leading to cloudiness and lower temperatures. “This year, the southwesterly winds have not become strong enough to counter the northerly winds. Therefore, temperatures are remaining high,” he said.

The IMD had earlier expected widespread rainfall across Telangana between June 19 and June 23 and had indicated the same in its seven-day forecast. However, weakening monsoonal winds have altered those expectations. “We were expecting good rains across the State from June 19 onwards. But the speed of the monsoonal winds has reduced and the outlook for the next two to three days appears bleak,” Mr. Srinivas said.

There could be some improvement around June 22 or June 23, when the monsoon is expected to finally cover the remaining parts of Telangana. “Once the monsoon covers the entire State and cloudiness increases, temperatures will come down. But at this stage, we cannot be very sure because the situation is changing,” he said. Describing the season as peculiar, Mr. Srinivas said the influence of El Nino and the sluggish monsoon progression have made weather patterns more unpredictable than usual, prolonging summer-like conditions even after the formal onset of the southwest monsoon.