NEW DELHI: Although the the India Meteorological Department said the city did not meet the criteria for a heat wave, residents baked under intense weather conditions on Tuesday as the “feels like” temperature climbed to 53.5 degrees Celsius at 5.30 pm.
The maximum temperature at Safdarjung, the city’s base station, settled at 40.5 degrees Celsius, 3.1 notches above normal. Palam recorded a maximum of 41.0 degrees Celsius, 3.2 notches above normal, while Lodhi Road recorded 40.1 degrees Celsius, 3.1 notches above normal. Ridge was the hottest station at 41.5 degrees Celsius, 4.8 notches above normal, and Ayanagar recorded 40.1 degrees Celsius, 2.0 notches above normal.
Experts said that the dry westerly winds from Pakistan are keeping temperatures high, while southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea are also reaching Delhi and increasing humidity.
“When these dry and moist air masses interact, clouds do form, but there is not enough moisture for widespread rainfall. By the time cloud formation takes place, usually around 4 or 5 pm, the day’s maximum temperature has already been recorded. That is why both the maximum temperature and the ‘feel-like’ temperature have remained unusually high,” Mahesh Palawat from Skymet said.
The weather office said trace rainfall was recorded till 8.30 am at Safdarjung, Palam, Lodhi Road and Ayanagar, while Ridge did not receive any rain. No rainfall was recorded at Safdarjung, Lodhi Road and Ridge.
The minimum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 30.2 degrees Celsius, 2.3 notches above normal. Palam also recorded a minimum of 30.2 degrees Celsius, 2.4 notches above normal. “As per data, the heatwave criteria are satisfied only at one station over the subdivision of Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi,” the IMD said.
Sood: Ready to tackle rising summer power demand
A day after Delhi recorded an all-time high peak power demand of 8,748 MW, the demand breached the 8,500 MW mark again on Tuesday, with power minister Ashish Sood assuring that they are is fully prepared to tackle any hike in the surging load. Delhi is prepared to meet any surge in power demand, Sood said in a statement. State Load Despatch Centre is monitoring the grid in real-time.
