The heat has consumed northern India; Mercury rises above 49 degrees Celsius in Delhi

A scorching heat wave swept through northern India on Sunday and mercury in Delhi’s pockets crossed 49 degrees Celsius, while the meteorological office forecast some relief from Monday.

Gurugram in Haryana recorded a low of 48.1 degrees Celsius, the highest since May 10, 1966, when the city was at 49 degrees Celsius.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday that mercury rose to 49.2 degrees Celsius in Mungeshpur in north-west Delhi and Najafgarh in the southwestern part of the city recorded 49.1 degrees Celsius.

Among other parts of the capital, the maximum temperature at the Sports Complex reached 48.4 degrees Celsius, Jafarpur 48.5 degrees Celsius, Pitampura 48.3 degrees Celsius and Ridge 48.2 degrees Celsius.

At the Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi’s base station, the maximum temperature rose to 45.6 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal and the highest so far this year.

The maximum temperature in the city rose to 48.6 degrees Celsius in Ayanagar, 48.4 degrees Celsius in Palam and 45.6 degrees Celsius in Lodhi Road.

Days of heatwave have been recorded at all weather stations.

According to the IMD, there is a possibility of thunderstorm or dust storm in the national capital on Monday.

In Punjab, Muktsar fell in extremely hot weather, with daytime temperatures recorded at 47.4 degrees Celsius.

In Haryana, except Gurugram, Hisar recorded a maximum of 47.3 degrees Celsius. Severe heat wave also prevailed in Sirsa, with a maximum temperature of 47.2 degrees Celsius recorded while Rohat recorded a maximum of 46.7 degrees Celsius. Vivani recorded a maximum of 46 degrees Celsius.

During the day Ambala had a maximum temperature of 42.1 degrees Celsius and Cornell had a maximum of 42.4 degrees Celsius.

Chandigarh, the general capital of Punjab and Haryana, endured another hot day, with a maximum temperature of 43 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, among other places in Punjab, intense heat wave prevailed in Bathinda, which recorded a maximum of 46.8 degrees Celsius, while Amritsar was submerged in intense heat at 46.1 degrees Celsius.

Ludhiana recorded a high of 45.5 degrees Celsius while Patiala had a high of 44.3 degrees Celsius.

Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur also experienced hot weather, with maximum temperatures recorded at 46.2 degrees Celsius and 46.1 degrees Celsius.

Moga recorded a maximum of 46.1 degrees Celsius and Ferozepur recorded a high of 46.9 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, some relief is expected from the intense heat in the two states on Tuesday, according to the Meteorological Department’s forecast.

The next 24 hours will be dry; Light rain is forecast in isolated places for the next 48 hours, it said.

There is a possibility of thunderstorms and gusts of wind and thunderstorms in isolated areas of Punjab and Haryana on May 16 and 17, the meteorological office said.

While heatwave conditions are likely to prevail in many places over the next 24 hours, the two states could then drop by two to four degrees, it said.

Weather forecasters said a cyclone over Punjab and Haryana would trigger pre-monsoon activity which would provide some relief from the intense heat on Monday and Tuesday.

In Jammu and Kashmir, heat waves have gripped most parts of the Jammu region and mercury rose further on Sunday, hitting a season-high of 43.9 degrees Celsius, officials said.

The city has also seen an increase in nighttime temperatures, which is 26.8 degrees Celsius, 3.3 degrees higher than the seasonal average.

The base camp for pilgrims visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi temple in Katra, Reasi district, was the second warmest place in the Jammu region with a maximum of 41.5 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 23.8 degrees Celsius, Meteorological Department officials said.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature in the summer capital Srinagar dropped to 29.8 degrees Celsius from Saturday’s 31.3 degrees Celsius. The daytime temperature in the city was 5.9 degrees above normal.

The night temperature in Srinagar was also three degrees above normal, with a low of 13.6 degrees Celsius recorded, officials said.

The meteorological office has forecast relief from the heatwave from Monday evening due to inclement weather.

“A dry and clear weather is likely to continue till May 16. Extensive moderate rain or hail in some places with thunderstorms and high level snowfall is most likely till May 18 (evening).”

Meanwhile, people in large parts of Madhya Pradesh got some respite from the hot weather on Sunday where mercury recorded a slight drop of about one degree Celsius, while Naogaon and Khajuraho in Chhatarpur district maintained temperatures of 47 degrees Celsius.

Regarding the slight change in weather conditions, PK Saha, a senior meteorologist at IMD’s Bhopal office, told PTI that a north-south force was moving from western Uttar Pradesh to south-western Madhya Pradesh, clouding over parts of the state.

He said that intense heat wave was observed in Naogaon and Khajuraho town on Sunday.

According to the IMD, the heat wave on Sunday was limited to five districts – Damoh, Satna, Gwalior, Sidhi and Rewa, as against eight districts on Saturday.

Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior recorded maximum temperatures of 43.9 degrees Celsius (three degrees above normal), 41.4 degrees Celsius (one degree above normal), 43.9 degrees Celsius (three degrees above normal) and 46.6 degrees Celsius. (More than five degrees above normal), respectively.

A heat flux is declared when the maximum temperature is above 40 degrees Celsius and the minimum is 4.5 degrees above normal. According to the IMD, a severe heatwave is declared if the exit from the normal temperature exceeds 6.4 notches.

Based on the perfectly recorded temperature, a heat flux is declared when an area enters a maximum temperature of 45 সেল C.

When the maximum temperature exceeds 48 degrees Celsius, intense heat flow is declared.