No Heatwave But Delhi To Witness Temperature Over 40 Degrees Celcius In Next 7 Days: IMD

IMD has predicted that the western disturbance is approaching northwest India and for the next seven days, and hence Delhi is likely to see rise in mercury which may go beyond 40 degrees Celcius.

Amid rising temperatures, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that there will be no heatwave conditions in the national capital for the next seven days. Kuldeep Srivastava of IMD Delhi said that heatwave conditions were less in the first half of May as  Western disturbances affected parts of northwest India. He added that the next western disturbance is approaching northwest India and for the next seven days, they are not expecting heatwave conditions there. However, he added, the temperature will go as high as 40 degrees Celcius.

On strong winds across Delhi-NCR and other nearby states, Srivastava told ANI, "Dust-raising winds are prevailing over Haryana, South Haryana, Delhi NCR, Western Uttar Pradesh, and North-East Rajasthan. The main reason behind this is that a western disturbance has passed away and strong winds are prevailing. Apart from that, the temperature was quite high for the last week, mostly 40°C or above."

"The atmosphere is dry, and the soil has become loose because of the hot atmosphere. That's why winds that are blowing at 40–45 kmph are raising the dust from the surface and spreading it in the atmosphere, and mainly these are spreading up to a height of 1-2 km," he further explained.

Meanwhile, Delhiites on Tuesday woke up to strong winds across the city, raising dust and affecting the air quality. The visibility in the national capital was reduced to 1,000 metres, reported the India Meteorological Department. The reason for this dusty condition as per the meteorologists was a combination of intense heat in northwest India over the past five days, dried-up soil due to the absence of rainfall, and strong winds that persisted since midnight, reported news agency PTI.

In the early hours, the wind speed was recorded at 30-35 Kmph. IMD's Head of Regional Forecasting Kuldeep Srivastava said that the speed of the wind will only come down during the day which will allow the dust to settle down.

The head of the IMD's Environment Monitoring and Research Centre VK Soni said, "Dust concentration has gone up multiple times. The PM10 concentration rose from 140 micrograms per cubic metre at 4 am to 775 micrograms per cubic metre at 8 am. It is mainly because of strong gusty winds prevailing over the area. Dust will settle down soon," reported PTI. IMD said that a partly cloudy sky and very light rain towards the evening may provide some relief.

As per the available data, PM10 levels are really high at most of the stations while India Gate, Patparganj, and Pusa recorded the worst AQI.