Guwahati, May 24 : Hot and humid weather conditions prevailed in Assam with temperatures recorded 6-7 degrees Celsius above normal.

An official of the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati said that most of the areas in the state have been witnessing a surge in maximum temperature.

'Guwahati has seen a departure of more than 6 degrees in maximum temperature while Tezpur recorded a deviation of more than 8 degrees Celsius. Other towns in the state -- Silchar, Dhubri, Jorhat were experiencing the same condition,' Sanjay Shaw, the director of RMC said.

On Thursday, Guwahati recorded a maximum temperature of 38.2 degrees which is 6.2 notches above normal. Tezpur has witnessed a maximum departure of 8.4 degrees with a maximum temperature recorded on Thursday at 39.5 degrees.

The MeT department has forecast that the maximum and minimum temperature in Guwahati will be above 36 and 24 degrees respectively.

According to him, the lack of sufficient rain has caused the hot and humid conditions across the state. However, he also predicted that Assam may experience heavy rain in the next week.

'A cyclonic storm would move nearly northwards and reach near Bangladesh and adjoining areas in West Bengal coasts by Sunday. It may convert into a severe cyclonic storm. Assam and other states of the northeastern region are expected to experience rain accompanied by thunderstorms and gutsy winds from next Tuesday,' Shaw added.

The weather department also said that the maximum temperature will significantly fall and it may come down below 30 degrees Celsius in the next week due to widespread rain.

Meanwhile, in a few districts, local administrations have altered the school timing and advised students to start school early morning.

/IANS