The weather department issued a heatwave alert for the northeast and southeast parts of Jharkhand from Monday, the official said. The weather will be mainly dry for the next four days in the state.

"Heatwave conditions may be experienced in parts of Jharkhand from Monday and it may continue till June 8. There is hardly a possibility of any major change in the mercury at least for the next four days. The weather is likely to be dry in the absence of any system," Abhishek Anand, in charge of Ranchi Meteorological Centre, told PTI.

A heatwave condition is declared when a district experiences a temperature of at least five degrees Celsius more than the normal temperature. He said that they expect partial relief from the heatwave after June 9 with the possibility of a change in weather. "Parts of Jharkhand might receive rains after June 9," he said.

The mercury crossed the 45 degrees Celsius mark in Jharkhand’s Godda district on Sunday, while Deoghar blistered at 43.3 degrees Celsius. Similarly, Sahibganj experienced 43.1 degrees Celsius, while Daltonganj and Jamshedpur simmered at 42 and 42 degrees Celsius respectively.

The mercury comparatively remained comfortable in Ranchi, which recorded 38.8 degrees Celsius due to cloud cover during post-noon on Sunday. However, the city might experience heatwave conditions from June 6.

Anand advised people to drink adequate water, wear light-coloured, loose, cotton clothes and cover the head with a cloth, hat, or umbrella while coming out of the house in the daytime.