Delhi records warmest night in May in 14 years amid severe heatwave conditions

The IMD classifies a “warm night” when the maximum temperature is over 40°C in the plains, with the minimum’s departure being 4.5°C or more above normal.

While ongoing heatwave conditions in Delhi are making venturing out in the daytime dangerous, there seems to be no respite in the night hours either, as Delhi logged a minimum temperature of 31.9 degrees Celsius (°C) on Thursday, marking the season’s first “warm night”, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, said while a feeble western disturbance began impacting the western Himalayan region from Thursday, it is unlikely to impact Delhi. (Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

The minimum temperature recorded at Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, was five degrees above normal, making it the warmest night for Delhi in May in the last 14 years. According to IMD data, the warmest night in May was recorded on May 27, 2012, when the minimum temperature was 34.2°C.

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The maximum temperature, meanwhile, was 43.6°C, 3.4°C above normal. The maximum peaked at other stations, with Ridge recording 45.3°C, as isolated heatwave conditions continued for a fourth day in a row. IMD extended its “orange” alert for heatwaves by a day, until May 27, on the day.

“Heatwave conditions were observed at a few places over Delhi on Thursday, making it the fourth consecutive day of heatwave in the city. Delhi also saw warm night conditions. In this likely scenario where lower tropospheric dry northwesterly to westerly winds are prevailing and the absence of a strong western disturbance, heatwave conditions will continue to impact Delhi till May 27,” said an IMD official.

The IMD classifies a “warm night” when the maximum temperature is over 40°C in the plains, with the minimum temperature’s departure being 4.5°C or more above normal.

It classifies a “heatwave” when the maximum temperature is over 40°C, with the departure being 4.5°C or more above normal, or the maximum is over 45°C in the plains. It is a “severe heatwave” if the maximum is over 40°C and the departure is 6.5°C or more above normal.

On Wednesday, Safdarjung had logged a maximum temperature of 44.5°C – 4.1°C above normal. The hottest location across Delhi was northwest Delhi’s Mungeshpur, where it touched 46.3°C.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, said while a feeble western disturbance began impacting the western Himalayan region from Thursday, it is unlikely to impact Delhi.

“The impact may extend till Punjab and Chandigarh, with some scattered rain, but Delhi is not likely to feel any impact from it,” he said.

Rising fire incidents

Amid rising heat, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) has been receiving at least one call every seven minutes this week, according to data. A total of 173 calls were received on May 17, followed by 186 on May 18, 251 on May 19, 212 on May 20, averaging a fire call in every seven minutes.

At least four major fires were recorded in the city on Thursday, which included a fire at a paying guest accommodation in Tagore Garden, which trapped more than 22 girls; a blaze inside two godowns in Siraspur in Outer Delhi where a large quantity of ink and paper roles were stored; a fire inside a four-storey residential building in Gulabi Bagh after a cylinder exploded and a blaze near the Yamuna floodplains. No casualties were reported in the fire incidents.

In the first case, DFS said the fire erupted in a Tagore Garden building on the ground floor near the staircase area where the inverter was installed. “Seven fire tenders and a team from the power supply department rushed to the spot, bringing the fire under control within time,” said Darade Sharad Bhaskar, DCP (west).

At Siraspur, DFS said the fire spread over an area of 500 square yards. “Nobody suffered injuries as workers were evacuated in time. The fire started in an ink and paper rolls godown and soon spread to a nearby godown where calcium carbonate powder was stored,” an official said, stating a total of 23 fire tenders were pressed into service.

Another fire was reported in a forested area of the Yamuna floodplains around 6.45 pm, and four fire tenders were rushed.

In terms of air quality, Delhi’s air was in “poor” again, with an air quality index (AQI) of 209 at 4 pm on Thursday, up from 168 (moderate) on Wednesday.