India, May 2 -- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its monthly forecast on Friday that above-normal heatwave days are likely in some parts of the foothills of the Himalayas, east coast States, Gujarat and Maharashtra in May. The department also highlighted that the rainfall averaged over the country as a whole during May is most likely to be above normal, with the onset of the southwest monsoon over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands expected around May 14-16.

This came as India continues to experience higher-than-average temperatures that are pushing energy demand to a record high. As the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, India's energy supplies are already under pressure since the United States-Israeli confli...