Yellow alert in Delhi as heatwave spell tightens grip, touches 45 degrees. See forecast
Premium- The ongoing heatwave spell tightened its grip on parts of Delhi, with the mercury breaching the 45-degree Celsius mark
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a “yellow" alert just as the ongoing heatwave spell tightened its grip on parts of Delhi, with the mercury breaching the 45-degree Celsius mark in six localities on Sunday.
The Met office issued a "yellow" alert, warning of heatwave conditions at isolated places in Delhi on Monday. The Safdarjung Observatory, the city's base station, the maximum temperature settled at 44.2 degrees Celsius as against 43.9 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 42.9 degrees Celsius on Friday.
The mercury jumped to 47.3 degrees, seven notches above normal, at Mungeshpur, making it the hottest place in Delhi. Sports Complex, Pitampura, Najafgarh, Jafarpur and Ridge recorded a high of 46.6 degrees Celsius, 46.2 degrees Celsius, 46.3 degrees Celsius, 45.1 degrees Celsius and 45.7 degrees Celsius respectively.
Apart from Delhi, a severe heatwave conditions has gripped parts of Madhya Pradesh, where mercury touched 47 degrees Celsius on Sunday at Nowgong, while at least sixteen towns and cities in central and northwest India recorded temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius and above.
“Heatwave conditions also prevailed over some parts of Vidarbha and over isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, west Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh," an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Banda in Uttar Pradesh and Ganganagar in Rajasthan recorded the highest maximum temperature of 46.8 degrees Celsius and 46.7 degrees Celsius respectively.
In Delhi, Safdarjung, the base station for the national capital, recorded 44.2 degrees Celsius, while Mungeshpur observatory in northwest Delhi, reported 47.3 degrees Celsius. The weather office said there will be no significant change in the maximum temperatures over most parts of northwest India over the next four to five days.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) uses four colour codes for weather warnings -- "green" (no action needed), "yellow" (watch and stay updated), "orange" (be prepared) and "red" (take action).
Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (climate change and meteorology), Skymet Weather, said Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, north Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradesh may see pre-monsoon activity on and off from June 10. The maximum temperature in the capital may drop to 40-41 degrees Celsius by Saturday.
"The monsoon will cover eastern India by June 15, which will intensify pre-monsoon activity in northwest India," he said. A heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius and at least 4.5 notches above normal. A severe heatwave is declared if the departure from normal temperature is by more than 6.4 notches, according to the IMD.
Based on the absolute recorded temperatures, a heatwave is declared when an area logs a maximum temperature of 45 degrees Celsius. A severe heatwave is declared if the maximum temperature crosses the 47-degree Celsius mark.
(With inputs from agencies)