Delhi sweltered under a heatwave as temperatures soared above 46°C, prompting a red alert extension till Friday and school closures for summer vacations.
Delhi felt like a furnace for a fourth straight day on Monday when six of the fifteen NCR weather stations recorded temperatures exceeding 46 degrees Celsius (°C), prompting weather officials to extend a red alert till Friday and the government to order schools still open to shut for summer vacations.
The Safdarjung station, the base station for the capital, recorded a maximum of 44.1°C, just half a notch below the threshold at which it would be classified as a technical heatwave.
In at nine least other National Capital Region (NCR) stations, the maximum was high enough to formally be called a heatwave as the mercury soared to meet the 4.5-degrees-higher-than-normal yardstick for the label.
The meteorological technicalities aside, the weather felt equally oppressive across the region, and in fact most of northwest India, where hot, strong winds continued to blow under the glare of strong sunshine.
All government schools are closed with effect from May 11 but “it has been observed that some government-aided and unaided recognised private schools are still open during ongoing severe heat waves… Therefore, all the heads of [such] schools are advised to close the schools for summer vacation with immediate effect,” said a circular by the department of education, Delhi government.
The scorching conditions first set in on Friday, when the maximum crossed 45°C at nine stations in the region. On Monday, a total of 11 stations logged temperatures higher than 45°C and the India Meteorological Department warned the peak could soar to 48°C in parts of NCR in the coming days.
Najafgarh in Southwest Delhi recorded the country’s hottest temperature with a maximum of 47.4°C, followed by Sirsa (47.2) in Haryana and Mungeshpur (47.1) in northwest Delhi.
The high temperatures and a working day also saw Delhi’s peak power demand touch 7,572 MW, the highest so far this year and higher than last year’s peak power demand. Delhi’s all-time high of 7,695 MW was recorded in June 2022.
The coming week will also see election campaigning reach a fever pitch in the Capital, which will go to polls on Saturday. The IMD has issued a “green” alert for that day, which indicates no extreme weather event is likely, but the agency also predicted conditions to not be too different.
“There has been no change in weather conditions over the last few days. Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions were recorded in Delhi NCR again, with a slight drop in temperature in comparison to Sunday. There are chances the maximum could touch 45°C at Safdarjung by Tuesday and possibly 46°C by Friday. The same maximum is likely on Saturday too,” said an IMD official, asking not to be named.
Last May, Delhi logged no heatwave days, while four such days were recorded in May 2022. In April 2022, nine such days were recorded — although not on consecutive days.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet meteorology, said large parts of northwest India were facing uncomfortable weather primarily due to clear skies and dry westerly winds. “These winds are blowing from dry Rajasthan and Balochistan, where temperatures are equally high. There is no moisture in the air, which makes the heat harsh and makes standing outside difficult,” he said.