Delhiites chose to stay indoors on Friday as the Capital remained hot and dusty throughout the day. Heat wave gripped Delhi with maximum temperature settling at 40.1 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average, the weather office said.
Temples witnessed unusually thin crowd of devotees on the occasion of Ram Navami which otherwise used to be swarmed with public on the pious day. The lack of any rainfall, contrary to indications by the Met department, also deprived Delhi of any respite.
Much to add to the discomfort, the Odd-Even scheme also kick-started on Friday and drew flak from people due to its commencement during hot weather. "The weather conditions should have been kept in mind by the Delhi Government. last time, it was during winter season that Odd Even scheme didn't affect us. Even if we walk a while it doesn't make a difference back in January, but now it is impossible to step out and use public transport. People will fall sick in this hot weather if they are unable to take out their cars," said Santosh.
In a few instances, volunteers of Odd Even scheme holding placards on the roads fainted due to the hot weather.
It was warm day on Friday, the Met Office said. The minimum temperature recorded at 23 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average. "The sky will remain partly cloudy and city will likely to experience heat wave on Saturday," said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).Maximum temperature and minimum temperature are likely to hover at around 40 and 24 degrees Celsius respectively. Maximum humidity was 70 percent while minimum was recorded at 34 percent. Thursday's maximum temperature settled at 39 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average.
Meanwhile, the National Zoological Park, better known as the Delhi Zoo, began its summer preparations. It said it will soon install water sprinklers, desert coolers and fans to help in all animal enclosures.
"Ponds are also being filled with water. Pressure pumps are being used to bathe big animals like elephants, tigers and lions," zoo curator Riyaz Khan said.
He said the meat intake of carnivorous animals like tigers, panthers, jaguars and lions is reduced by 1-2 kg during summer.
The MET department had predicted average to good rainfall this year, but it seems that the capital will have to reel under hot weather conditions for a long duration.