15.5.22

New Delhi: 47°C breached

Buffeted by searing “loo” winds and a fiery sun, temperatures in the capital region breached the 47 degrees Celsius mark at two stations on Saturday, making it the hottest day of this summer that has already seen record heat since March. All city weather stations witnessed heat wave to severe heatwave conditions, with Mungeshpur in northwest Delhi recording 47.2 degrees Celsius and Najafgarh reporting 47 degrees. An “orange alert” is in place and Sunday could get even hotter while Monday may see some relief, the met office said.

The mercury rose sharply in the morning itself. “By 10.30am, most weather stations in Delhi had touched 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday. It remained above 40 degrees for many hours,” said R K Jenamani, senior scientist at IMD.

Safdarjung, the city’s base station, recorded 44.2 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal, the highest of the season so far, even as three city stations — Mungeshpur, Najafgarh and Pitampura (46.4 degrees) — reporting severe heat wave conditions. Neighbouring Gurgaon was among the hottest spots in the region with the maximum climbing to 46.8 degrees C on Saturday.

At 48.8 degrees Celsius, Banda in Uttar Pradesh was the hottest station in the country.

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