Respite for Delhi as 4th day of heatwave ends with showers
The high daytime temperature meant that Delhi saw a heatwave for the fourth straight day, with the maximum mercury hitting 41°C at the Safdarjung weather station, which is considered the official marker for the Capital.
After a week of scorching heat, residents of the national capital were treated to some relief on Friday evening, with rain in parts of the city which caused a 12 degree-drop in the temperature, said officials of the India Meteorological Department. However, the high daytime temperature meant that Delhi saw a heatwave for the fourth straight day, with the maximum mercury hitting 41°C at the Safdarjung weather station, which is considered the official marker for the Capital.

The minimum temperature at the station, recorded in the morning, fell to 27.2°C from 31.7°C the previous day. Experts said the city is likely to see rain in patches on Saturday as well, even as they warned that the temperature will resume its rise next week.
IMD declares a heatwave in the plains when the maximum temperature crosses 40°C, and when the day temperature exceeds the region’s normal maximum temperature by 4.5°C. A severe heatwave is declared when there is a departure of 6.5°C or above from normal temperatures.
“A thunderstorm with light intensity rain and gusty winds with a speed of 30-40kmph occurred over Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region, including Faridabad, Ballabhgarh and Gurugram,” Met officials said on Friday.
Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre said that between 2.30pm and 5.30pm on Friday, the Safdarjung observatory received 0.4mm rainfall, Palam received 26mm rain and the Lodhi Road station got 2.5mm rain. Aya Nagar received trace rain during this period.
Weather experts said that temperatures reduced significantly after the rain, despite the heatwave conditions during the day.
Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (climate change and meteorology) at Skymet Weather, a private weather forecaster, said that there was a drop of around 12°C in Delhi’s temperature after the showers.
“The temperatures fell from 37°C to around 25°C after the rain. Rain covered most parts of Delhi. Patchy rain is likely to continue on Saturday as well,” said Palawat.
Scientists, however, warned that this relief was short-lived and temperatures will rise again in the Capital next week, till the monsoon arrives. IMD on Thursday said that the monsoon is unlikely to advance in the remaining parts of north-west India, including Delhi, till at least July 7.
“Current forecast suggests that hot conditions and maximum temperature above 40°C will continue in and around Delhi till July 7. The maximum temperature is expected to reduce marginally on July 3 due to cloud cover and some thundershowers, but it will rise again from July 4,” said Akshay Deoras, an independent meteorologist and PhD student at the University of Reading in England.
Met officials also said the high temperatures are likely to be exacerbated by the high humidity levels, which will increase the “discomfort index”. The discomfort index is a metric used to measure the discomfort felt during warm spells, as a result of the combined effects of temperature and humidity of the air.
When temperatures are high and the moisture level in the atmosphere also increases, the human body tends to feel greater discomfort. Such a weather phenomenon is usually seen during the end of June in Delhi, when patchy pre-monsoon showers increase moisture in the air, leading up to the arrival of monsoon.

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