‘Delhi is unlivable’ : Residents Express Frustration Over Boiling Tap Water & Malfunctioning ACs During Heatwave

“It’s so hot right now, just stepping outside for ten minutes feels unbearable. Tap water feels like it’s boiling, and there’s no relief from the heat. It’s almost unlivable,” reads a post from a Delhi-based entrepreneur on the social media platform X. Puneet Siinghal’s post is among thousands of such tweets that have surfaced on X (formerly Twitter) in recent days as the national capital endures one of its hottest summers on record.

The intense heatwave sweeping through northern India has claimed at least five lives in New Delhi this week, according to the Times of India. Since March, temperatures have soared to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in Delhi and the nearby state of Rajasthan. Amidst the high temperatures, the national capital is also facing a water shortage and escalating power consumption, which hit an all-time high on Tuesday. The minimum nighttime temperature reached 33.8 degrees Celsius, the highest for June in six years.

“Delhi is unlivable” has become a frequent and alarming refrain on social media. Many users highlight how Delhi’s extreme summers are compounded by freezing winters, persistent pollution, and water drainage issues during the monsoon season.

Check out some of the tweets lighting up social media:

 

 

 

Journalist Rituparna Chatterjee joined the chorus of social media users discussing Delhi’s heatwave. She posted on X, “I don’t think people elsewhere fully grasp what’s happening in NCR and just how hot it is. At 7 am, the tap water is boiling hot. The sun hurts the eyes. There’s no night time anymore. For 24 hours, the temperature feels above 40°C, which means even at night, the water is as hot.”

In fact, many Delhi residents have echoed the complaint about tap water being boiling hot.

Amid the ongoing heatwave, Delhi residents reported that their ACs were struggling to provide relief. “Delhi-NCR folks, do you feel any respite from the heat even with the AC on during the day?” questioned a user on X.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated that heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are expected to persist across many parts of North India on Wednesday, gradually easing thereafter due to the approach of a western disturbance towards northwest India.