Delhi heatwave: The national capital will see slight relief from Wednesday due to dust storms
New Delhi:
The intense heatwave that swept Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab over the past week has led to the India Meteorological Department issuing a red alert for these states. Temperatures are rising to more than 46 degrees across northern India, including Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand. In Bihar state, 22 people died due to extreme heat and humidity in the past 24 hours.
Delhi ‘feels like’ 50 degrees Celsius
In the national capital, the maximum temperature is likely to settle at around 45 degrees Celsius, more than 6 degrees higher than the normal June temperature. According to the Met office, the heat index or temperature in Delhi rose to 50 degrees Celsius on Monday.
A Delhi to West Bengal IndiGo flight was delayed for more than three hours on Monday due to a technical fault caused by rising global temperatures. While the national capital is expecting a slight respite from Wednesday due to scattered rain and dust storms, a long-term respite is unlikely at the moment.
Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) recorded the highest maximum temperature of 47.6°C over the country on June 17, 2024.#Maximum temperature#prayagraj#UttarPradesh#A hot wave@moesgoi@ndmaindia@DDNational@airnewsalerts@RailMinIndia@DDNewslive@NHAI_Officialpic.twitter.com/zvPeqBRvT6
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) June 17, 2024
Temperatures are rising across Uttarakhand, J&K
In Uttarakhand, Dehradun, the most visited, recorded a maximum temperature of 43.1 degrees Celsius, while the temperature in Mussoorie reached 43 degrees Celsius. Even hill towns like Puri and Nainital experience a heatwave with little or no rain in three months.
The hill state of Himachal Pradesh is burning at 44 degrees, 6.7 degrees above average. In Jammu and Kashmir, Katra recorded a maximum temperature of 40.8 degrees Celsius, while the mercury touched 44.3 degrees in Jammu.
Today, heatwave to intense heatwave prevailed over most parts of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi and Uttar Pradesh; In some parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Bihar, north of Madhya Pradesh; In isolated pockets over Odisha. pic.twitter.com/rvsxopk69x
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) June 17, 2024
Relief from the heat wave soon?
A respite from the sweeping heatwave is expected this week, but a shift in winds across the Arabian Sea has delayed cooling of the plains, former IMD director general KJ Ramesh told NDTV.
“The other reason is that the monsoon has been stagnating in West Bengal since June 1. As long as the monsoon does not cover these areas, north India will remain under a continuous heat wave,” he added.
However, Mr. Saxena added that Delhi may see some “intermittent relief” due to dust storms and scattered rain, but it can only provide relief for “a few hours or half a day.”
After Wednesday, a fresh western disturbance will approach northwest India, which will also affect Delhi and bring relief from the intense heat, according to the Met Office.
“The real drop in temperature will only happen when the monsoon arrives,” he added, adding that it would take more than 12 days for the monsoon to reach Delhi.
“After June 27, most districts of Uttar Pradesh will get relief followed by western UP, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab,” he said.