After brief drop, mercury rises to 44.6°C; heatwave returns to Safdarjung

With this, heatwave conditions returned to Delhi’s base station at Safdarjung, IMD said, issuing an orange alert for Tuesday, warning of heatwave in parts of Delhi-NCR. There are also chances of gusty winds, thunderstorms and light rain in isolated parts of Delhi-NCR towards late evening, it said

New Delhi

Children cool off in a pond at the Yamuna floodplains. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

After a brief drop in the maximum temperature over the weekend due to moisture-laden winds, the sun came out blazing once again, propelling the maximum temperature to 44.6°C on Monday, which was five degrees above normal and almost two degrees over the reading of 42.8°C recorded a day earlier, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

With this, heatwave conditions returned to Delhi’s base station at Safdarjung, IMD said, issuing an orange alert for Tuesday, warning of heatwave in parts of Delhi-NCR. There are also chances of gusty winds, thunderstorms and light rain in isolated parts of Delhi-NCR towards late evening, it said.

“Heatwave conditions are expected to continue in Delhi-NCR, for which an orange alert has been issued. We also have some moisture intrusion due to a western disturbance, which can contribute to light rain. Days are relatively dry, but early morning and late evening have higher relative humidity,” an IMD official said.

Parts of northwest India are receiving moisture through a feeble western disturbance, which is likely to lead to isolated rain on Tuesday, IMD officials said, adding that this also marginally raised humidity levels. Delhi’s relative humidity oscillated between 19% and 55% through the day, giving Delhi a heat index (HI) or “real feel” of 46°C, up from 45.4°C recorded a day earlier.

Delhi’s wet bulb temperature, another indicator of comfort level, was between 24.9 and 26.7°C throughout the day, with the highest logged at 11.30am, when humidity was 33%.

A wet bulb temperature of 32°C or higher makes it difficult for even fit and acclimatised people to work outdoors for long and at a wet bulb temperature of 35°C — the maximum threshold — humans can no longer regulate body temperatures, leading to heatstrokes and potential collapse. In Delhi, this tends to be over 30°C, usually in July and early August, when temperatures are high and there is moisture intrusion due to the southwest monsoon.

At 46.9°C each, both Najafgarh in southwest Delhi and Narela in north Delhi were the hottest locations in the city on Monday. On Sunday, it was the Sports Complex Station in east Delhi, at 45.2°C.

According to IMD, a heatwave day is one when the maximum temperature is over 40°C, while also being 4.5 degrees above normal. Parts of Delhi have been recording heatwave conditions since May 25.

The minimum temperature, meanwhile, was 30.2°C, which was three notches above normal. It was 30.4°C a day earlier.

Metro ridership up

On the day, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said Metro proved a popular travel option in May, as people sought to escape the scorching sun. In a statement, DMRC said the average passenger journeys observed in the Delhi Metro this May was a record high, at 6.01 million passengers, higher than 5.24 million passengers recorded in May 2023.

“In summer, when Delhi has been witnessing high temperatures, Delhi Metro is silently offering its cool services across the network by performing over 4,200 train trips running around 140,000 kms daily, giving much-needed relief to commuters with a 24°C pleasant commuting experience throughout the day,” Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, corporate communication, DMRC, said.

Night shelters checked

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday afternoon conducted a surprise inspection of multiple night shelters across the Capital to ensure adequate arrangements to help people residing there fight the heat. He directed the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to ensure provisions of cold drinking water and air coolers at all shelters where there is deficiency.

In a statement, the minister’s office said that during the inspection, Bharadwaj saw adequate arrangements of water dispensers to provide cold drinking water to the people and water air coolers for cold air.

Anganwadi centres to shut

In the wake of the ongoing heatwave in the national capital, the Delhi government announced the closure of all anganwadi centres from till June 30. “This measure aims to protect the health and safety of vulnerable children and mothers. To offset the impact of the closure, the government will provide supplementary nutrition food items as Take Home Ration (THR), delivering these supplies directly to the beneficiaries’ doorsteps,” women and child development minister Kailash Gahlot said.

The minister said that he has directed the WCD department to ensure compliance with the order and furnish reports daily.

Delhi has a total of 10,897 anganwadi centres, which provide a range of services, including supplementary nutrition, preschooling, non-formal education, health check-ups, immunisation, referral services and nutritional education.

Currently, 643,760 beneficiaries receive supplementary nutritious food through these centres, a government spokesperson said. This group comprises 56,051 lactating mothers, 65,726 pregnant women, 361,712 children aged six months to three years, and 160,271 children aged three to six years.