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Record-breaking heatwave sees Jhansi hit 49° Celsius
Day temperatures in Jhansi spiked the highest in 132 years as the city reeled under 49 degrees Celsius, which was 5.9 degrees above normal.
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Amid a crippling heatwave, at least two Uttar Pradesh cities broke their decades-old records even as the rest of the state also seethed under intense heat conditions on Tuesday.
Day temperatures in Jhansi spiked the highest in 132 years as the city reeled under 49 degrees Celsius, which was 5.9 degrees above normal. The previous high of 48.2 degrees was recorded on May 20, 1984, India Meteorological Department records showed. IMD records for Jhansi dates back to 1892.
The Taj city of Agra was not far behind as it broke its 30-year-old record by reeling under 48.6 degrees Celsius, which was 5.7 degrees above normal. The previous high of 48.5 degrees was recorded on May 31, 1994. IMD has been recording Agra’s temperatures for the last 47 years.
Prayagraj sizzled at 48.2 degrees--6.5 degrees above normal. This was the second-highest day temperatures recorded in May. The highest May-day temperature of 48.4 degrees was recorded on May 30, 1984, even as the city experienced an all-time high of 48.8 degrees in June 1979.
Varanasi (airport), meanwhile, boiled at 47.6 degrees, almost a degree beyond the previous May high of 46.8 degrees recorded in 1988. The all-time highest temperature that the city ever witnessed was in June 1966 when it sizzled at 48 degrees, said Lucknow met office in-charge Mohd Danish.
Likewise, Varanasi BHU recorded 47.2 degrees equalling its 140-year-old record for the first time. At 48.2 degrees, Hamirpur equalled its previous high recorded on May 28, 2005. Kanpur (IAF) sizzled at 47.6, Fatehpur and Orai 47.2, Churk and Bulandshahar 46, Aligarh 45.8, Kanpur City, Fursatganj 45.2 and Etawah 45 degrees.
The rise in day temperatures was attributed to the transportation of hot weather conditions from Pakistan, Rajasthan and Gujarat where the maximum daily temperature has touched 50 degrees Celsius. For nearly a week, people in West UP have been living under severe weather conditions due to this factor, said GP Sharma, chief of Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency.
