Heat Wave Alert In Delhi As Temperature Crosses 45 Degrees In Some Areas

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heat wave alert for Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas, a day after several parts of the capital recorded maximum temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius.

The IMD, in its latest weather bulletin, said that Delhi is likely to witness a partly cloudy sky with heatwave conditions at isolated places with strong winds.

The weather department said that observatories at Narela and Pitampura recorded 45 degrees Celsius, Ayanagar and Ridge reported 44 degrees Celsius and Palam recorded 43.8 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

With 42.9 degrees Celsius, the Safdarjung observatory recorded maximum temperature, three notches above the season's average.

The scorching heat kept people indoors, resulting in less traffic on the roads on Sunday afternoon and the usually crowded weekend hubs wearing a deserted look.

"I had to go to the market but the heat outside was unbearable so I did not go. The mercury has shot up so much and even the ACs are unable to provide relief," news agency PTI quoted Varsha Pillai, a resident of Delhi's Lajpat Nagar, as saying.

The weather department also forecast rain and thunderstorms in several parts of India for the next three days, bringing respite from severe heatwave conditions.

22 May: Heavy rainfall very likely at isolated places over Assam and Meghalaya. Thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds (speed 40-50 kmph) very likely at isolated places over Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gangetic West Bengal; with lightning and gusty winds (speed 30-40 kmph) likely at isolated places over Vidarbha, Jharkhand, SubHimalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, Telangana and Kerala and Mahe with lightning at isolated places over Odisha, Interior Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal.

Heat wave conditions very likely in isolated pockets over south Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Rajasthan, East Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal.

23 May: Heavy rainfall likely at isolated places over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan and Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh and Assam and Meghalaya.

Thunderstorm with lightning and squall (wind speed 50-60 kmph) likely at isolated places over Gangetic West Bengal; with lightning and gusty winds (speed 40-50 kmph) at isolated places over Rajasthan; with lightning and gusty winds (speed 30-40 kmph) at isolated places over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan and Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Telangana and Kerala and Mahe; with lightning at isolated places over Punjab, south Haryana, Odisha, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Interior
Karnataka.

24 May: Heavy rainfall likely at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

Thunderstorm with lightning and squall (wind speed 50-60 kmph) likely at isolated places over Gangetic West Bengal; with lightning and gusty winds (speed 40-50 kmph) very likely at isolated places over West Rajasthan, Jharkhand; with lightning and gusty winds (speed 30-40 kmph) at isolated places over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and Kerala, Mahe; with lightning at isolated places over Punjab, south Haryana, East Rajasthan, Odisha and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

25 May: Heavy rainfall likely at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

Thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds (speed 40-50 kmph) likely at isolated places over Rajasthan and Gangetic West Bengal; with lightning and gusty winds (speed 30-40 kmph) at isolated places over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and Kerala, Mahe; with lightning at isolated places over Punjab, south Haryana, Odisha and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.