Children jump into a Canal to beat the heat in New Delhi. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna) The maximum temperature in Delhi Tuesday is likely to remain at 42 degrees Celsius, and heatwave conditions also remain in the forecast, according to the weather bureau. The minimum temperature recorded in the early hours of Tuesday was above normal at 22.5 degrees Celsius, which is two degrees above the normal for this time of the year.
All the weather stations in the city recorded maximum temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius on Monday. The Safdarjung weather observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius, seven degrees above the normal for this time of the year. The maximum temperature at the Ridge was 43.8 degrees Celsius, while it was 43.4 at Aya Nagar. The highest maximum temperature in the city was recorded at the Yamuna Sports Complex, which registered a temperature of 44.1 degrees Celsius.
Delhi has recorded more days with heatwave conditions in April this year when compared with the same month over the past four years. So far this month, Delhi has witnessed heatwave conditions for five days. In contrast, there were no such days in April 2021 and 2020, and only one such day was recorded in 2019 and 2018 each.
In the past 12 years, from 2011 to 2022, a higher number of heatwave days was recorded only in 2017, which saw six such days in April. While no heatwave days were recorded in April from 2011 to 2014, April 2016 and 2015 saw one day each. The maximum temperature recorded in the first half of April this year is already higher than that recorded in the first 15 days of the month in the past 72 years.
Bringing brief respite, the maximum temperature over northwest India is likely to fall by two to three degrees over the next three days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). But the relief is set to be short-lived and the maximum temperature is likely to rise again thereafter. With cloudy skies forecast, the temperature could fall marginally to around 40 degrees on April 14, before bouncing back up to 42 degrees Celsius by April 18.
Heatwave conditions are recorded in the plains when the maximum temperature is 40 degrees Celsius or above, and 4.5 to 6.4 degrees above the normal. It may also be recorded when the maximum temperature is 45 degrees Celsius or above.
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