E-Paper
No respite from heat: IMD issues yellow alert in Delhi
A yellow alert is a cautionary notice, indicating that the weather may cause minor disruptions or inconveniences, but is not severe enough
Residents in the Capital witnessed sweltering heat on Sunday as the maximum temperature crossed the 40°C-mark for the first time this month and rose by 2.3°C from the previous day. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of possible hot and humid weather in the coming days and has issued a yellow alert for the same till Thursday.
A yellow alert is a cautionary notice, indicating that the weather may cause minor disruptions or inconveniences, but is not severe enough. The Met department also added that Delhi might experience light showers, gusty winds, and thunderstorms towards the end of the week.
The maximum temperature on Sunday was recorded at 42.1 degrees Celsius (°C), 2.1°C above the normal and up from 39.8°C a day before. Meanwhile, the heat index (real-feel temperature) was recorded at 47.2°C at 2.30pm, which is when temperature peaks in a day.
The minimum temperature, too, saw a rise on Sunday and was logged at 27.6°C, coinciding the normal temperature of the day, and a rise from Saturday’s 26.3°C.
“The yellow warning has been extended till Thursday as similar conditions are expected to persist in the first half of the coming week. While mainly clear skies are expected to persist for the next couple of days, some dust raising wind at 20-30kmph might occur in Delhi on Monday and Tuesday,” an IMD official said.
IMD has further forecast very light to light rain to occur on Thursday and Friday, along with thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds at 40-50kmph, temporarily reaching 60kmph towards the evening and night. A yellow alert has been issued for Friday, warning people of thunderstorms.
“We are expecting thunderstorm activity on June 13 over the entire northwest India plains. Temperature is likely to fall over the entire region after that. However, till then, hot and humid conditions, where the maximum temperature is 3°C above normal and relative humidity is also above normal, is expected to continue,” said Krishna Mishra, a scientist at IMD.
According to a forecast by IMD, the maximum temperature is expected to be around 42-44°C on Tuesday and Wednesday and then fall slightly. The minimum, according to the forecast, is likely to be around 27-29°C by Wednesday and then decline in the following days.
The air quality of the city, meanwhile, returned to the “moderate” category on Sunday. The air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 198 (moderate) at 4pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily national bulletin. The AQI was 209 (poor) at the same time on Saturday and 161 (moderate) on Friday.
The CPCB classifies AQI between 0 and 50 as “good”, between 51 and 100 as “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 as “moderate”, between 201 and 300 as “poor”, between 301 and 400 as “very poor”, and over 400 as “severe”.
Forecasts by the Centre’s Early Warning System for Delhi (EWS), however, show that air quality is likely to be in the “poor” category for the next few days.
“The air quality is likely to be in the poor category from Monday to Wednesday. Ozone will become predominant at many stations in the afternoon for a few hours owing to clear sky and strong sunlight. The outlook for the subsequent six days is that the air quality is likely to be in the poor to moderate category,” said the EWS bulletin on Sunday evening.
