As summer peaks in India, mercury simmered above 40 degrees Celsius several parts of North India on Monday. A blistering heatwave swept parts of Delhi with maximum temperatures breaching the 46-degree mark, straining power grids and posing challenges to outdoor labourers, homeless people and animals.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist Soma Sen Roy stated that a heatwave alert has been issued on Monday for North India. “We have issued a heatwave alert for today for south Haryana, Delhi, south UP, north MP, Jharkhand, Bihar and Bengal. Tomorrow, heatwave alert is not given for any place other than Jharkhand,” said Sen Roy. However, Sen Roy predicted likely relief from the heatwave from today. “There is a strong possibility that is likely,” said the IMD scientist. In Delhi, Safdarjung Observatory, the city’s primary weather station, recorded a maximum temperature of 43.7 degrees Celsius — four notches above normal and the maximum so far this year. The mercury soared to 46.2 degrees Celsius at Najafgarh, making it the hottest place in the capital. The blistering heat saw the peak power demand in Delhi rise to 6,532 MW around 3:30 pm. It was 6,011 MW around 11:30 pm on Sunday, officials said. The city’s peak power demand was 7,695 MW last summer and it might reach 8,100 MW this year, they said. Punjab and Haryana are also reeling under the scorching heatwaves with numerous locations recording temperatures as high as 44 degrees. In the next two days, Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh may get rain as a result of the Western Disturbance.
As per the reports, heat waves continue to break out in the morning due to the rise in temperatures and scorching winds coming from the west. In another incidence of the heatwaves, mercury crossed 45 degrees in the Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh. Heatwaves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July. As of now, schools have been closed in Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal due to heat wave conditions. In northern states, the temperature is soaring but there is respite due to Western disturbances from time to time. Heat waves affect the Northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan generally in the month of May and June.
