Heatwave to Continue in North India For Next 3-4 Days, Gradual Decline Thereafter: IMD

As several parts of the country witness extreme heatwaves and soaring temperatures, the IMD has predicted that the heatwave spell is likely to continue till May 28 in the Northern region and there would be a gradual decline after that.

New Delhi: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday predicted that the soaring temperatures and the heatwaves will continue to prevail over Northern India including in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and in Uttar Pradesh till May 28 and there would be a gradual reduction thereafter.

The weather office has issued a read alert for the northern part of the country as the temperature continue to persist over the region with temperature crossing the mark of 45 degree Celsius while in Rajasthan in some isolated areas, it went even upto 49 degree Celsius.

Earlier on Sunday, Rajasthan's Phalodi recorded the highest temperature in the country at 49.8 degrees Celsius.

Videos circulating on social media a couple of days earlier showed the country's service men (BSF) guarding the borders at LoC boiling 'eggs' and 'papad' on sand, showing the intense heat the region is witnessing while our 'Jawans' continue to guard the borders despite this severe heatwave.

This was followed by Delhi's Mungeshpur at 48.3 degrees Celsius, Uttarakhand's Jhansi at 47.7 degrees Celsius, and Punjab's Faridkot at 47.4 degrees Celsius

IMD has also issued a yellow alert for heatwave conditions in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzzaffarabad, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and East Uttar Pradesh.

Similarly, heat wave conditions are likely to persist in isolated pockets of Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, East Uttar Pradesh during May 27-28,

East Madhya Pradesh on May 27-28, Chhattisgarh during May 28–30, West Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha during May 27–29, Madhya

Maharashtra, Marathwada and Gujarat state on May 27.

"Hot and humid weather very likely to prevail over some parts of Gujarat state during May 27- 30 and Bihar on May 27", it added.

Heatwave spell in Delhi

National Capital saw the hottest day of the year on Sunday as Safdarjung which is the city's base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 45.4 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal, with dry and warm winds making the outdoors unbearable.

The Met Department on Monday predicted that heatwave will continue to prevail in Delhi till May 28 and there would be a gradual reduction after that.

According to it, the maximum temperature on May 27-29 is likely to remain at 46 degree Celsius while the minimum would be 29 degree Celsius.

After May 28, there would a gradual decline in the temperature as the maximum temperature would fall by 2-3 degree Celsius.

Despite this blistering heat, Delhi's air capital remained in the moderate category with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 190.

As per IMD's data, there was no heatwave in Delhi last summer and it recorded a highest temperature of 43.7 degrees Celsius in May 2023.

In 2022, the capital saw four heatwave days, the IMD said.