It was the hottest day of the season for Delhiites on Thursday with the city sizzling at 43.7 degrees Celsius. Mercury in Palam area soared even higher to 46 degrees Celsius making it the hottest day in the past 15 years. High temperature coupled with hot winds across the city resulted in the highest ever power consumption this month. There seems to be no respite for city dwellers on Friday as the Met department has predicted temperatures to touch the 45-degree mark.
“It was the hottest day of this season when the temperature was three notches above the normal level. There is no system over the Capital, so rains shall remain away from the city,” said the weatherman. The day temperature recorded at Safdarjung observatory, considered to be the standard temperature of the city, was 43.7 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was recorded one notch below normal at 26.3 degrees Celsius. Humidity levels oscillated between 22 and 80 per cent.
It was the hottest day in over 15 years at Palam with its observatory recording a high of 46 degrees Celsius. “last the temperatures went so high in the year 1998.In Palam, the temperature is expected to drop as rains and thundershowers are expected in the coming three days. By Sunday, we can expect the temperature to plummet to 35 degrees Celsius.
According to the Meteorological department officials, there would be no respite from the heat wave and the mercury is expected to touch 45 degree Celsius on Friday. “Tomorrow the day would start with a mainly clear sky. However, in the afternoon, there could be partly cloudy sky. Maximum temperature is expected to hover around 45 degrees Celsius while minimum temperature is likely to settle at 25 degrees Celsius.
With the rise in temperature, Delhi recorded the highest power consumption of over 100 million units on Wednesday, on a single day in the month of May. “The power consumption touched 100.89 million units yesterday (Wednesday), which is the highest in the recorded history for the month of May,” a senior power department official said. The earlier record of highest consumption on a single day was on May 31, 2012 when the consumption had touched 99.23 million units. The highest-ever consumption of power on a single day was recorded on July 2, 2012 when the city had consumed a total of 107.36 million units.