Heatwave to continue in Delhi; mercury to touch 43°C this week: IMD

The mercury will soar to 43 degrees Celsius by Saturday in the national capital, the weather department said in its latest forecast.

Delhi is unlikely to see any respite from the prevailing heatwave for at least another week, the Indian Meteorological Department said on Wednesday. The heatwave spell is likely to intensify with the maximum temperature predicted to touch the 40-degree mark on Wednesday, it said.

Northwest and central India recorded heatwaves during the second half of March. (HT PHOTO)

The mercury will soar to 43 degrees Celsius by Saturday in the national capital, the weather department said in its latest forecast.

On Wednesday, the temperature reached 36 degrees at around 11.30am. It is likely to increase further during noon.

The city recorded 39.6 degrees Celsius on March 30, making it the highest of this season so far, according to the Safdarjung Observatory, which is considered the official marker for the city. This was the city’s second hottest March day after last year, when it touched 40.1°C on March 30, according to Met department data from 1951 to 2022.

The national capital has been reeling under a heatwave since mid-March with maximum temperature hovering above 40 degrees. The sudden and unseasonal dry spell has come at least a month before the schedule, leading to "severe" hot weather conditions.

According to the IMD, a "heatwave" is declared in plains, when the maximum temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius and at least 4.5 notches above normal. A "severe" heatwave is declared if the departure from normal temperature is more than 6.4 notches, according to the IMD.

The weather department attributed the unusual heat to the lack of rainfall due to the absence of active western disturbances over north India and any major system over south India. Delhi recorded nil rainfall in March -- for the first time since 2018. Usually, it gets 15.9 mm of rainfall in the month on average.

The country as a whole recorded a rainfall of 8.9 mm, which was 71 per cent less than its long period average rainfall of 30.4 mm. It was also the third-lowest precipitation in March since 1901 after 7.2 mm in 1909 and 8.7 mm in 1908.

(With agency inputs)