Heatwave in parts of Delhi, temp hits 40°C — but rain likely ahead

The maximum temperature on Saturday breached the 40-degree mark in Delhi for the first time this year, with parts of the city experiencing heatwave conditions, officials at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Similar weather is expected to continue for the next two days before the city gets some respite from the heat, with the Met department predicting rain from Tuesday night.

Also Read: IMD predicts isolated heatwave conditions from April 13

On Saturday, the Safdarjung observatory, the base station for the city, logged a maximum temperature of 40.5 degrees Celsius (°C), which is four degrees above normal for this time of the year, and 1.1 degrees higher than the 39.4°C reading on Friday.

At least 10 weather stations across the Capital recorded temperatures above 40°C, with one — the Ridge station — recording heatwave conditions.

A heatwave is declared when the maximum is over 40°C, and the deviation from normal is at least 4.5 degrees. The Ridge station recorded 41.5°C on Saturday —five degrees above the normal.

“For heatwave declaration, there needs to be a 4.5°C departure from the normal. This criterion was not fulfilled at most places except our manual weather station at Ridge. So, isolated heatwave conditions were realised. We were expecting a possible heatwave at Safdarjung too but the departure from normal was less than 4.5°C,” said IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava.

The minimum temperature, however, continued to be unseasonably cool, with the city logging a low of 20°C — one degree below normal for this time of the year.

According to IMD’s weekly forecast, the maximum temperature is expected to hover around the 40-degree mark on Sunday, while the minimum may touch 20°C.

A partly cloudy sky is expected on Sunday.

Srivastava said some relief was expected with rain from April 18 onwards due to a western disturbance. “A western disturbance is approaching Delhi-NCR. Significant activity is not expected during the day on 18th but light rain or drizzle is likely at night. Thunderstorm and light rain is expected on 19th and some impact might be seen on 20th as well,” said Srivastava.

The city’s pollution levels improved marginally on Saturday but continued to remain in the “poor” category, with Delhi logging an air quality index (AQI) reading of 235, slightly lower than Friday’s reading of 246.

An Air Quality Index between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 is “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 is “moderate”, 201 and 300 is “poor”, 301 and 400 is “very poor”, and 401 and 500 is considered “severe”.