Delhi heatwave: Some respite on windy, cloudy Monday

New Delhi: A day after mercury rose to the season’s high of 45

New Delhi: A day after mercury rose to the season’s high of 45.6°C, Delhi experienced slight relief on Monday with the maximum temperature dropping three-five degrees in most places as overcast skies during the day and dust-raising winds brought down the maximum temperature at Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, to 42.4 degrees Celsius (°C) – two notches above normal and 3.2 degrees down from a day ago.

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Najafgarh was Delhi’s hottest location, with a maximum of 44.7°C, followed by the Sports Complex near Akshardham (44.4°C), while Mungeshpur, which recorded a high of 49.2°C on Sunday, saw the temperature drop to 44°C on Monday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the impact of a western disturbance caused the drop in temperature, adding that thundery development and cloudy skies are expected on Tuesday as well.

IMD scientist RK Jenamani said while rain is likely to skip the Capital, the western disturbance still provided some respite from the intense heatwave conditions prevailing over the region. “If it had rained, then the maximum would have dropped below the 40-degree mark... Similar conditions on Tuesday will see the maximum hover between 41°C and 43°C. The maximum is expected to start rising once again from Wednesday,” he said.

The IMD has a green alert (no action needed) in place for Delhi until Thursday, following which a yellow alert (to warn of a weather phenomenon, heatwave in this case) is in place on Friday as the maximum temperature may return to around 45°C at Safdarjung and up to 48 degrees in some other parts.

Jenamani said subsequently, mercury is expected to drop from Saturday, and there is a possibility of light rain and thunderstorm activity on Sunday. “This current western disturbance is unlikely to bring any rain, barring scattered drizzle in isolated patches, but the next spell has a greater possibility of causing overcast skies and bringing light rain,” he said.

Meanwhile, at 30.8°C, the minimum temperature was four notches above normal on Monday, and the relative humidity oscillated between 15% and 59% through the day.