Delhi: Night temperature still in the 30s, respite likely on Wednesday

City residents suffered through yet another day of scorching conditions as Delhi continued its streak of “heatwave” days with the maximum temperature remaining above 44 degrees Celsius (°C) for the fourth day in a row on Saturday, even as the “warm night” conditions continued for a second day.

There also appears to be no immediate relief on the cards from the prevailing sweltering conditions, according to India Meteorological department (IMD) predictions. The heatwave, scientists said, is expected to continue till at least Wednesday.

The maximum temperature rose further on Saturday and clocked 44.6°C on Friday, six degrees above what is considered normal this time of the year, thus qualifying as a “heatwave” day. According to IMD, a “heatwave” is said to take place when the maximum temperature of a day is 4.5°C or more above normal. This means that the maximum has now been above 44°C every day since Wednesday.

The maximum on Friday was 44°C, while it was 44.8°C on Thursday and was 44.7°C on Wednesday. If IMD’s prediction turns out to be accurate, then the city may experience a full week of heatwave days.

Saturday is the fifth day in June when IMD’s Safdarjung station, which is considered representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded a heatwave. This is the highest number of heatwave days in June since 2014 when the month saw seven heatwave days.

“The heatwave will continue till next week due to dry westerlies coming in from Rajasthan. A western disturbance might influence Delhi on June 20, after which a spell of thunderstorm might be seen,” said an IMD official, who did not wish to be identified.

Other weather stations that recorded a heatwave on Saturday were Palam with a maximum of 45°C (six degrees above normal) and Lodhi Road, where a maximum of 44.7°C was recorded (six degrees above normal).

Moreover, Ridge recorded a maximum of 45.5°C and Ayanagar recorded a maximum of 46°C — seven degrees above normal at both stations. The IMD classifies it as a severe heatwave when the maximum is 6.5°C or more above the normal.

To be sure, IMD has issued an orange alert till June 18 and a yellow alert for the following two days. IMD issues green, yellow, orange and red alerts along with their forecast, in an increasing order of intensity of the weather condition. A yellow alert warns people to be aware, while orange alert is issued when a weather condition requires people to be prepared for heat exposure.

On the other hand, Delhi’s minimum, dropped by almost a degree. The city experienced a warm night for the second consecutive day. A warm night is recorded when the day’s maximum is over 40°C and the night-time or minimum temperature is more than 4.5 degrees or more above normal, according to the IMD.

Delhi’s minimum was logged at 32.4°C, five degrees above normal. The minimum was 33.3°C on Friday.

The recent rise in minimum temperature has been caused by a combination weather factors that have played into each other, IMD scientists explained. In the day, hot and dry winds and clear skies cause a rise temperature, which means that the ground heats up severely. But by night, a moderate cloud cover means this heat is not transmitted back into the atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect, which causes a warmer than usual night.

“Even though some cloud cover was observed on Friday night, the skies were mostly clear throughout Saturday. Warm nights might not be recorded in the following days but the minimum will stay above 30°C,” added the official.

The IMD has forecast the maximum to hover over 45°C for the next few days, while the minimum is expected to stay 32°C or above till June 20.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president of private weather forecasting agency Skymet, said, “Delhi will continue to experience this kind of heat for at least one more week. After that a western disturbance and a cyclonic circulation might bring some relief.”