IMD revives infamous weather station, but won’t release data

Remember Mungeshpur, the Delhi neighbourhood that made the news after it recorded a maximum temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius on May 29, 2024, the kind of number that makes one take a second look at the scale; and yes, it is Celsius.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) was quick to dismiss the reading as a sensor error (the automatic weather station, or AWS, at the northwest Delhi neighbourhood recorded 49.9°C on May 28, 2024). It subsequently shuttered the station itself.

A year on, the station was hurriedly made operational, and the sensors replaced after a visit by Hindustan Times to the AWS, according to an official from IMD’s AWS division. But IMD says that because the sensors are new, and need calibration — they do — there will be no readings for Mungeshpur released through May, historically, the hottest month in Delhi.

Mungeshpur residents confirm that it has been getting hotter with every passing year; they have brought forward their crop cycle by a fortnight (Mungeshpur is essentially an urban village with agricultural land around it); and those who can afford air conditioners have bought them. HT’s reporting last year suggested that Mungeshpur could be a victim of the urban heat island effect — a phenomenon where buildings that are close to each other, and paved roads transmit heat, and prevent cooling at night — and while more studies are needed to establish this, the topography of the area has not changed, which means this year could be as hot.

With data from Mungeshpur not being released through May, all of northwest Delhi is unlikely to be represented in temperature measurements; the Narela AWS, around 10km from Mungeshpur, has also been inoperational since February this year.

“The Mungeshpur station is not functional at the moment. Due to some technical problems, we have not been able to replace its sensors yet, but getting the station working again is on the agenda and will be revived soon,” said a senior IMD official, part of its AWS division on April 29. Hours later, following HT’s visit, the sensors were replaced — indicating that the process by itself is not cumbersome.

Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, DG, IMD did not specify why the station was replaced hurriedly, but said the data will be studied in the coming weeks. “It is under observation, once we feel the data is correct, it will be made public,” he said.

An official, meanwhile, confirmed that the Narela AWS is also not functioning, due to another technical fault. “For Narela, we will have to wait as there is a technical fault, but there are no immediate plans of revival,” the official added.

IMD has five main weather observatories in Delhi, where readings are collected manually: Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station for weather, Ridge, Palam, Lodhi Road and Ayanagar.

It also has 15 AWSs, from which readings are automatically shared to IMD’s database via sensors which take readings at fixed timings at Mungeshpur, Narela, Najafgarh, Jafarpur, Pusa, Pitampura, Sports Complex (Akshardham), Mayur Vihar (Salwan Public School), Pragati Maidan and Rajghat. Out of these, the one at DU is also currently inoperational, as per IMD’s AWS website.

Stations in Delhi have been distributed in such a manner to cover different parts of the city. Typically, outer portions, including northwest and southwest Delhi record higher temperatures than the urban core, where Safdarjung is located. Experts said while Najafgarh provides a good idea of the weather in southwest Delhi, data from northwest Delhi is equally important.

“Efforts must be made to revive Mungeshpur, as data transparency is important and it will help the public too. The denser the network, the more it helps identify weather extremes,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, adding that temperatures peak in late May and early June.

The ministry of earth sciences did not respond to HT’s queries for a comment.

Meanwhile, AWS or no AWS, the residents of Mungeshpur are gearing up for another torrid summer.

A majority of the 10,000 population has already starting spending the day indoors, with only a handful, including farmers, seen outside. The farmers say they have sown jowar (sorghum) nearly a fortnight earlier than usual, to prevent it from withering away in the heat.

“Normally it matures by the end of May, but most farmers planted it nearly 10-15 days earlier than usual this year, so it will ready by early May,” said Vikas Rana, a resident who works for the Delhi Transport Corporation.

Rana said following last year’s record-breaking heat, people had also bought coolers, refrigerators and air conditioners. “A decade ago, barely anyone had an AC. Now, nearly 50% of the houses in the village have air conditioners and a lot of people bought it after last year.”

Sonu Kumar, 33, who runs a barber shop, said the village is deserted post noon. “My shop is almost always empty between noon and 5pm. People only come either early in the morning or in late evenings. After last year, people are more aware of the temperature and it is the talk of the town. Locals even try to head to the school nearby where the weather station is installed, but it has not been functioning,” Kumar said on April 29.

The school is Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. The area around the AWS showed signs of neglect, including weeds and plants growing directly around it, during HT’s visit. However, the AWS has since been made operational — but with the first readings unlikely to be publicised anytime soon, no records are likely to be set this year.