September is the Autumn month, the weather around this time is typically not so hot.

One usually see the monsoon coolness during this time, the first two weeks of September have brought abnormally warm temperatures to various regions of India, particularly during daytime.

As per IMD data, maximum temperatures have been soaring 3-4°C above normal in the northeast while the north and northwestern states have been 1-4°C above normal so far in September, as reported by the TimesofIndia.

Most places in east India too have been warmer than usual.

Vineet Kumar Singh, researcher from Typhoon Research Center Jeju National University, South Korea, attributed this to a significant deficit in rainfall this month. "Northwest India faces a rain shortfall of 30% this month, while east-northeast India is grappling with an even more severe deficit of 44%. These deficiencies have disrupted the usual cooling effect of monsoon rain, leading to the atypical warm conditions. Even the usually cool hill stations of northern India have not been spared," he said.

While many parts of India have been warmer than usual so far in September, temperatures have been particularly high in the hills. J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are experiencing temperatures 2-3 degrees C above the seasonal average. Srinagar, known for its cool weather, recorded a daytime temperature of 34°C on Wednesday, nearly six notches higher than normal. Similarly, Shimla recorded 26.4°C, higher than normal 4.4°C.

As per a senior IMD official, “Whenever there is less rainfall accompanied with clear skies, there is always a possibility of temperatures to rise. Even in the previous season, the lack of thundershowers in March and April caused day temperatures to rise in parts of India. Recently, too, parts of northwest India recorded high maximums due to a dry phase in monsoon.”

He said, “This is the reason why even some hill stations are recording high day temperatures. Jaisalmer had on September 9 recorded its highest ever September temperature of 43.5°C (above normal by 6.9 degrees).”