Not worth the sweat as humidity touches 80 pc
Weather continued to be muggy in the national Capital on Thursday with humidity levels almost touching 80 per cent while the day temperature settled at 41.3°C, three notches above normal. Power demand too shot up and was recorded the highest for this year at 5,533 MW on Thursday.
With the sultry weather reaching its peak, city dwellers had to also bear the brunt of long power outages. Areas in East and West Delhi were the worst affected with power cuts occurring to the tune of four hours. “Peak load met during the last 24 hours was 5,533 MW — the highest for this year. However, 75 MW loadshedding is being carried out from 1.50 pm in East Delhi areas and 50 MW in West Delhi areas,” said an official in the Power Department.
According to the weatherman, humidity levels were recorded between 40 per cent and 79 per cent during the day. The national Capital received 3.6 mm rainfall till 8.30 am. However, there was no rain any where in the city between 8.30 am to 5.30 pm. The minimum temperature was registered at 28.4°C, which is normal for this part of the year. Temperature at Palam Observatory was recorded at 41.5°C.
This year, the peak power demand is expected to reach 6,000 MW, surpassing the all-time high of 5,653 MW, reached last year. The discoms have taken a slew of measures to ensure minimal loadshedding in the city. “We have taken
several proactive steps to minimise inconvenience to consumers. Mobile patrolling teams have been deployed, sub-transmission links have been revived and customer advisors have been appointed. Besides, we have also augmented call centre operations by around 60 per cent,” said an official of the Reliance-owned BSES discoms.
The Met Department has predicted similar weather conditions on Friday as well. “There would be a partly cloudy sky on Friday and thundery conditions may occur in some parts of the national Capital while maximum and minimum temperature may settle at 42°C and 29°C respectively,” said a Met official.