The viral post claiming that IMD issued a severe heatwave warning from 29 April to 12 May 2025 is fake
A viral social media post (here, here, and here) claims that from 29 April 2025 to 12 May 2025, no one should step outside under the open sky between 10 AM and 3 PM, as the Meteorological Department has supposedly forecast temperatures soaring between 45°C and 55°C. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: The Meteorological Department has warned that temperatures will rise to 45°C–55°C from 29 April 2025 to 12 May 2025, so people should avoid going outside under the open sky between 10 AM and 3 PM.
Fact: The Indian Meteorological Department and no other official source, including the DGCD, has issued any alert forecasting temperatures between 45°C and 55°C or advising people to stay indoors from 10 AM to 3 PM from 29 April to 12 May 2025. An IMD official from Hyderabad also denied the viral claim and clarified that no such forecast or heatwave warning was issued for that period. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To verify the claim, we first checked the official website and social media handles (here and here) of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). However, we found no information stating that they had warned of temperatures rising to 45°C–55°C from 29 April 2025 to 12 May 2025, advising people to avoid going outside between 10 AM and 3 PM.
We found a press release titled “Current Weather Status and Extended Range Forecast for the Next Two Weeks (1st May to 14th May 2025).” Nowhere in this release was there any mention of temperatures reaching 45°C–55°C or a warning advising people to avoid going outside between 10 AM and 3 PM. The release did note that the highest temperature recorded was 46.8°C in Barmer, Rajasthan, on 30 April 2025. The forecast primarily focuses on rainfall and thunderstorms, particularly in southern and northeastern states during early May.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a heatwave refers to “unusually high temperatures compared to what is normally expected in a region.” Prolonged exposure to such conditions can be dangerous and even fatal. The IMD, along with the World Health Organisation (WHO), recommends several safety measures, including staying indoors during peak heat hours, staying hydrated, wearing light-coloured, loose-fitting cotton clothes, using an umbrella or hat, and staying updated on official heat warnings.
The viral post also quoted the Directorate General of Civil Defence (DGCD) in this regard. Therefore, we checked the official website of the DGCD, which falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and found no such alert.
The primary role of the DGCD is emergency preparedness during wars and disasters, including guarding the hinterland, supporting the Armed Forces, mobilising citizens, and assisting civil administration. It does not issue weather forecasts or warnings, as that responsibility lies solely with the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Additionally, we contacted Srinivas Rao, an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Hyderabad. He confirmed that no severe heatwave warning, as mentioned in the viral post, had been issued by the IMD. He clarified that heatwave alerts are not issued for the entire country at once—they are region-specific and depend on local weather conditions. He further explained that the IMD provides forecasts at different time scales, including daily and short- to medium-range forecasts covering up to seven days. Referring to the period mentioned in the viral claim—29 April to 12 May 2025—he stated that no such heatwave forecast had been released. He also pointed out that, in Telangana, current temperatures are 2 to 3 degrees below normal. He categorically denied the claim that the IMD had issued any alert predicting temperatures reaching 55°C anywhere in India.
To sum up, the viral claim about a 45°C–55°C heatwave warning from 29 April to 12 May 2025 is false as no such alert was issued by the Meteorological Department or any official source.