Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
New Delhi: Heatwave conditions are unlikely in the city over the next seven days. Though the mercury is likely to show a rising trend, the Met department said the city may not reel under heatwave conditions.
The maximum temperature is expected to stay between 38 and 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and between 39 and 41 degrees Celsius on Thursday and Friday.
The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday evening withdrew its heatwave alert from Wednesday to Friday. The revised forecast says that heatwave and warm night conditions are unlikely over the next few days. IMD has issued no colour-coded warning for the next seven days. The maximum temperature was recorded at 37.9 degrees Celsius—two degrees above normal—on Tuesday at Safdarjung, the city’s base station.
It was 37.8 degrees Celsius a day earlier. The minimum temperature was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal. It was 2.4 degrees higher than Monday’s minimum.
“There has been a rise in minimum temperatures and no large change in maximum temperatures over Delhi during the past 24 hours,” said a Met official. IMD added, “A gradual rise in maximum temperatures by 3-4 degrees Celsius is likely till April 18. However, under the influence of a western disturbance, maximum temperatures are likely to fall by 2-4 degrees Celsius from April 19 onwards.”
The Met department defines a heatwave day as a day when the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees or more above the normal temperature and the maximum is at least 40 degrees Celsius. A heatwave is also considered if the maximum temperature reaches 45 degrees Celsius or above. A ‘severe’ heatwave is declared when the maximum is 6.5 degrees and more above normal.
Delhiites reeled under the heatwave for three consecutive days at Safdarjung, which is the city’s base station, from April 7 to 9, with the mercury staying above 40 degrees Celsius. Apart from high day temperatures, the nights were warm and uncomfortable.
However, rain along with gusty winds on the evenings of April 10 and 11 provided relief from the heat. Delhi’s air quality, meanwhile, remained in the ‘moderate’ category with an AQI of 180.
Mayank Rawat
