Delhi goes above 40°C weeks before time

The heat is on. Delhi on Sunday got a taste of the harsh summer to come with the Palam weather station recording a maximum temperature of 43 degree Celsius — highest in the first fortnight of April in 47 years.

The heat is on. Delhi on Sunday got a taste of the harsh summer to come with the Palam weather station recording a maximum temperature of 43 degree Celsius — highest in the first fortnight of April in 47 years.

Children beat the heat with a dip in the pond at India Gate on Sunday. At least three places in the city breached the 40-degree mark. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Two other places — Ayanagar in southeast and Jafarpur in southwest Delhi — also breached the 40-degree mark, recording 40.6°C and 40.1°C, respectively.

“It is very unusual for this time of the year. Even between April 16 and April 20, there have been only two instances in 47 years —1984 and 2010 — when the maximum at Palam touched 43 degrees,” said RK Jenamani, director in-charge of the weather office at IGI airport.

The Safdarjung station, which records the official readings for Delhi and is usually cooler than Palam, reported a maximum temperature of 39.4 degrees and minimum of 24.8 degrees, both six notches above normal.

According to the Met department, Monday might provide some respite from the heat with light thundershowers in the morning. The temperature is expected to be between 23 and 38°C.