Ahmedabad, May 20 : The Meteorological Department on Monday issued an orange alert for various districts of Gujarat amid an intense heatwave.

The affected areas include Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Anand, Surat, Bhavnagar, and Rajkot.

The department said that the heatwave is expected to intensify in the Saurashtra region as well.

It said that eight cities in Gujarat are experiencing heatwave conditions while Keshod in Junagadh is also facing a severe heatwave.

'The heatwave will persist across various districts until May 24,' the department said.

The department has issued an orange alert which indicates that the maximum temperature is expected to be around 41-42°C (105.8-107.6°F) or higher.

The department has also issued a yellow alert for Amreli and Sabarkantha regions.

Ahmedabad has recorded temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius with Deesa in Banaskantha hitting the highest at 45.3 degrees.

/IANS