Capital under heatwave grip for second consecutive day
An intense spell of heat gripped the national capital on Wednesday as Delhi recorded a heatwave for the second consecutive day, with temperatures hovering around the 45 degrees Celsius mark and the weather office maintaining an orange alert for the coming days amid forecasts of prolonged heatwave conditions.
Earlier, the national capital region experienced a warm Wednesday morning as the minimum temperature settled at 28.3 degrees Celsius, which is almost two notches above the normal, leading to discomfort at night.
Wednesday also marked the fifth heatwave recorded in Delhi this year. Heatwave conditions were earlier recorded on April 23, 24, 25 and May 19, according to an official of the weather department.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), heatwave conditions were witnessed in isolated places, with Safdarjung, the city’s base weather monitoring station, recording a maximum temperature of 44.5 degrees Celsius, 4.1 notches above normal, while 0.6 degree lower than the previous day. The Palam station also logged 44.9 degrees Celsius, 3.6 notches above normal with a 24-hour decline of 0.2 degree.
The Lodhi Road station recorded a maximum temperature of 44.6 degrees Celsius, 5.6 notches above normal and 0.6 degree lower than the previous day, while the Ridge station recorded the hottest temperature in the city at 45.8 degrees Celsius, 4.3 notches above normal with a 24-hour decline of 0.7 degree. Ayanagar station recorded a maximum temperature of 45 degrees Celsius, 2.9 notches above normal and 0.5 degree lower than the previous day.
The minimum temperature settled at 28.3 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, 1.8 notches above normal and 0.1 degrees higher than the previous day, while Palam recorded 28.5 degrees Celsius, 1.4 notches above normal with a 24-hour rise of 0.4 degree.
Delhi’s power demand past 8000 MW
New Delhi: Unrelenting heat in the national capital on Wednesday pushed the power demand to 8,039MW, the highest ever this year. Given the forecast for a continuing heatwave for the next few days, the peak hour power demand may cross 9,000 MW. The power distribution companies (discoms) successfully met the surge in their respective areas on Wednesday.
Delhi’s peak power demand has seen a sharp rise in May 2026 compared to previous years, reflecting the impact of an intense and early summer. According to SLDC data, peak power demand on Wednesday touched 8039 MW at 3:35 pm. On Tuesday, peak power demand had reached 7,776 MW in the afternoon and further increased to 7,841 MW during the night.
In comparison, the peak demand till May 20 stood at 7,533 MW in 2025 and 7,591 MW in 2024. Between May 1 and May 20, Delhi’s peak power demand in 2026 was higher than the corresponding day of 2025 on 15 out of 20 days — 75% of the days. Compared to 2024, Delhi’s peak demand in 2026 was higher on 13 out of 20 days — 65% of the days. BSES discoms are fully geared up to ensure reliable power supply to more than 53 lakh consumers and nearly 2.25 crore residents across South, West, East and Central Delhi.
These arrangements include long-term PPAs, bilateral tie-ups, banking arrangements with other states and deployment of advanced technologies such as AI and ML-based demand forecasting to accurately estimate load and maintain uninterrupted supply. BSES discoms have been successfully meeting Delhi’s rising power demand.
Given the increasing impact of weather volatility on electricity demand, BSES has also adopted a phased power procurement strategy to optimise costs while ensuring adequate availability of power during the summer months.
