Mercury touches 45.9 degrees in Gurugram, orange alert for next two days

The inhumanely hot weather on Friday saw people stepping out of their homes tying their scarves and duppattas tightly around their arms and faces as Gurugram not only recorded a maximum temperature of more than 45°C for the second consecutive day but at 45

The inhumanely hot weather on Friday saw people stepping out of their homes tying their scarves and duppattas tightly around their arms and faces as Gurugram not only recorded a maximum temperature of more than 45°C for the second consecutive day but at 45.9°C, it also beat the previous day’s maximum temperature of 45.6°C to become the hottest April day ever.

Gurugram, India - April. 29, 2022: Pedestrians of a hot summer afternoon in Gurugram, India, on Friday, April 29, 2022. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times) (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange heatwave alert for the next two days for the south Haryana region and a yellow alert for Monday. While an orange alert (issued in the likelihood of a severe heatwave) asks administrators to be ‘on alert’ and ‘be prepared’ and asks residents to safeguard themselves and plan well before stepping out of their homes, a yellow alert is issued for a heatwave and requires authorities to ‘watch’ the weather and ‘be updated’.

On Friday, Gurugram recorded a minimum temperature of 26°C, which was three degrees above normal while the maximum was six degrees above normal, shows IMD data.

Officials from the Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh, a regional centre of IMD, said the day temperatures are likely to remain the same over the next few days.

“Heatwave will continue in the south Haryana region for another three days. The intensity is going to be high over the next two days, for which an orange alert has been issued. A yellow alert has been issued for Monday as temperatures are likely to start reducing due to the impact of a western disturbance,” said a senior official from Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh.

“This year, Gurugram district has been exceptionally warm and has also reported the highest maximum temperature across the state on certain days. In the month of April, Gurugram has recorded maximum temperatures between 42-45°C on 14 days. Last year, the city had not touched 45°C in April,” said the official.

Officials further said the city recorded maximum temperature over 45°C on two days in April this year and over 40°C on three days in March.

On Friday evening, the IMD issued an advisory suggesting people to avoid exposure to the sun, drink sufficient water even if one is not thirsty , wear lightweight or light-coloured loose cotton clothes, cover one’s head using cloth, hat, umbrella while stepping out.

The advisory mentions, “With high temperature, there is increased likelihood of heat illness symptoms in people who are either exposed to sun for a prolonged period or doing heavy work. Infants, elderly or people with chronic diseases are vulnerable.”

According to the weekly forecast of IMD, the maximum temperature is likely to touch 47°C in Gurugram over the next two days and likely to reduce by four degrees and remain around 40°C by May 5. The minimum temperature over the next five days will remain around 27-28°C.

Officials also said strong surface winds or dust raising winds with speed upto 25-35 kmph are likely to prevail over the state on Saturday and the weather is likely to be dry during the next three days. Dust storm or thunderstorm is likely at isolated places again on May 2-3 over the state.