Delhi sweats on hottest day of season, Palam sizzles at 46°C

The hottest day of the season also witnessed high humidity that hovered between 80% and 22%. The minimum temperature of the day was 26.3 degree Celsius, one degree below normal.

Delhi saw the hottest day in 16 years on Thursday as the mercury climbed to a sweltering 46 degrees Celsius at Palam, close to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport.

At the Meteorological department’s other station in Safdarjung, the temperature recorded was 43.7 degrees C, which is still the highest this season.

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“Last year, Safdarjung had recorded 45.7 degrees Celsius on May 25 and 45 degrees C on May 31,” a senior Met department official at IGI airport said.

The hottest day of the season also witnessed high humidity that hovered between 80% and 22%. The minimum temperature of the day was 26.3 degree Celsius, one degree below normal.

The Met department predicted no respite for Delhiites on Friday with the temperature expected to stay between 45 and 25 degree C. A mostly-clear sky with occasional cloud cover is also anticipated.

“The temperature might go up in the next two days and may come down after that,” the official said.

Before Thursday, the hottest day this year was on May 23 when the mercury had soared to 43.6 degrees C.

The highest-ever temperature recorded at Palam — where data is available from 1969 — was 48.4 degrees C on May 26, 1998, said the official. At Safdarjung where data can be found from 1901, the record is 47.2 degrees C on May 29, 1944.