Mercury soars to 41.7 deg C on capital's hottest day so far this year; Ridge seethes at 43 deg C

Mercury soars to 41.7 deg C on capital's hottest day so far this year; Ridge seethes at 43 deg C

New Delhi, It was a scorching Thursday in the capital, with residents reeling under intense heat as temperatures soared beyond 40 degrees Celsius, with the city's base station at Safdarjung recording the hottest day of the year so far as the mercury logged 41.7 degrees Celsius, 4 degrees above normal.

Mercury soars to 41.7 deg C on capital's hottest day so far this year; Ridge seethes at 43 deg C

The spike in temperatures was felt across stations, with the Ridge emerging as the hottest at 43 degrees Celsius, 4.6 degrees above normal.

Meanwhile, Palam recorded 41.6 degrees Celsius , Lodhi Road 41.4 degrees Celsius , and Ayanagar 41.7 degrees Celsius , underlining the widespread rise in day temperatures across the city.

Nights offered little relief as minimum temperatures also climbed, making it the warmest night spell of the season so far. Safdarjung recorded 25.4 degrees Celsius as the capital's minimum.

Meanwhile, minimum temperatures were logged at 25.6 degrees Celsius at Palam, 23 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road, 25.4 degrees Celsius at Ridge, and 25.2 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar.

Despite the sharp rise, the India Meteorological Department said heatwave conditions are yet to set in.

"At least two stations must qualify heatwave criteria for two consecutive days; only then can a heatwave be declared over the subdivision of Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi," an IMD official said.

The department defines a heatwave when the maximum temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius and is 4.5 to 6.4 degrees above normal.

The weather office has forecast heatwave conditions over the next two days, with some respite likely on April 26 with partly cloudy skies and thunderstorm accompanied by lightning.

Air quality remained in the 'moderate' category, with the Air Quality Index recorded at 176.

As per Central Pollution Control Board standards, an AQI of 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.