Delhi records highest ever temperature

India issues a red alert for several parts of the country's northwest

FE Team | Published: May 29, 2024 21:14:46

A man rides a motorcycle with a roof to protect himself from a heatwave on the street in Ahmedabad on Monday — Reuters

NEW DELHI, May 29 (AFP/Reuters): Temperatures in India's capital soared to a national record-high of 52.3 degrees Celsius (126.1 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, figures from the government's weather bureau showed, as it warned of dangerous heat levels in the sprawling megacity.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which reported "severe heat-wave conditions", published the temperature automatically on its website after it was recorded by a station in the Delhi suburb of Mungeshpur on Wednesday afternoon.
However, IMD meteorologist Soma Sen Roy cautioned that officers were "checking out" whether the station had recorded it correctly.
The recording not only broke the landmark 50C measurement for the first time ever in the city, but smashed the previous national record in the desert of Rajasthan by more than one degree Celsius.
India has been grappling with unusually high temperatures this summer, and the weather department has said "heatwave to severe heatwave" conditions are likely to continue in several parts, including the capital, through Wednesday.
India declares a heatwave when the maximum temperature of a region is 4.5 C to 6.4 C higher than usual, while a severe heat wave is declared when the maximum temperature is 6.5 C higher than normal or more.
Local weather stations in Delhi's Mungeshpur and Narela neighbourhoods recorded a temperature of 49.9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday - an all time record for the city and 9 C above normal.
Delhi's local government also restricted the supply of water because of the heat. It said water levels in the Yamuna River, the main source, were low.
The city does not have uninterrupted water supply at any time, but the government said neighbourhoods which received water for some hours two times a day would be subject to further restrictions.