Palam boils at 47.80C
City dwellers were literally baked on Sunday with the mercury touching 45.1 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal and the highest in five years. The blazing sun left IGI Airport burning at an unbearable 47.8 degrees Celsius which broke all previous records of the past 62 years. A respite from the blistering heat wave is remote for at least four days as the Met Department has predicted temperatures to fall only marginally. A brief relief can be expected on Friday with the possibility of light rain.
The minimum too stuck a notch above normal at 28.6 degrees Celsius. Besides, recording the highest day temperature this season, June 8 also was the second hottest day in 10 years for this month. The hottest day in June so far was recoded at 46.7 degrees Celsius on June 17, 1945. “In the month of June, the hottest day was recorded in the year 2012 (June 1) where the maximum shot up to 45.4 degrees Celsius. Today (Sunday) is the second hottest day in a decade for the month of June. On June 21, 2005, the maximum was recorded at 45 degrees Celsius,” said an official from the Met Department.
Similar situation prevailed in Palam where the maximum temperature was 47.8 degrees Celsius, the highest since 1952. The region also witnessed dust storms, whereas, the minimum was 30.8 degrees Celsius there. “Earlier on June 16, 1952 the maximum had hit the roof settling at 47.4 degrees Celsius. The extreme conditions occurred due to the constant rise in temperatures over the last three days. Such highly heated air led to the formation of a severe local convection which hit the airport and South West Delhi. Black cumulonimbus (CB) clouds with sudden gusty wind of 45 kmph hit the area during 6 pm to 6:50 pm causing high amount of dust. But the air was so dry that thunderstorm did not occur,” said RK Jenamani, Director (IC), IGI Met Office.
Adding to the woes of heat-ravaged Delhiites, frequent power cuts across the city aggravated the situation and made life miserable.
The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) said there is no relief likely from the heat wave and similar weather conditions will continue for at least four days. According to IMD, Monday will see clear skies and the searing heat will continue. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 45 degrees Celsius, while the minimum is expected to settle around 30 degrees Celsius. “It will be mainly clear sky with temperatures hovering around 45 degrees Celsius in the coming four days. light rains and thunderstorms are expected on June 13,” said an official of the Met department.
On Saturday, the mercury touched 44.9 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was 28.6 degrees, a notch above the season’s average. Temperature in the national Capital breached the 45-degree mark on June 6, making it the hottest day of the season.