New Delhi: The heatwave continues in North India with temperatures crossing 45 degrees Celsius in many parts. In Delhi, many regions saw an upwards of 47 degrees Celsius with little relief expected in the next few days, news agency PTI reported.
The mercury reached a near unbearable high of 47.2 degrees Celsius at Mungeshpur and 47 degrees Celsius at Najafgarh, both being at least seven notches above the normal.
The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 44.2 degrees Celsius, which was five notches above the normal and the highest of the season till now. On Saturday, the temperature rose to 46.9 degrees Celsius at Sports Complex, 46.4 degrees Celsius at Pitampura, 45.8 degrees Celsius at Jafarpur, and 45.4 degrees Celsius at Ridge and Ayanagar.
All the weather stations in the city recorded a heatwave day as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The Met department predicted the conditions to worsen on Sunday as it issued an ‘orange’ alert to caution people as the city experiences the fifth heatwave of the season.
However, relief is expected to come with thunderstorms and dust storms in the national capital on Monday.
The extreme heat conditions have also affected the water supply in the city. Officials told PTI that the production capacity at Wazirabad, Chandrawal, and Okhla water treatment plants had reduced to 85 percent and that it could further decrease to 75 percent on Sunday.
In order to deal with the same, the Delhi Jal Board official said it has already resorted to water rationing.
Though, Delhi is not the only city to be affected by the extreme heat condition. As many as 23 cities in Rajasthan recorded maximum temperatures above 44 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
Sriganganagar recorded 48.3 degrees Celsius followed by 48.2 degrees in Bikaner, 47.9 degrees in Karauli, 47.8 degrees in Sangaria, 47.5 degrees in Churu, 47.4 degrees each in Jaisalmer and Phalodi, 47.3 degrees each in Alwar and Pilani, 47 degrees in Nagaur, 46.9 degrees in Sawai Madhopur, 46.8 in Anta, 46.5 in Bundi. Jaipur recorded 45.6 degrees Celsius.
The Met department has a forecast for severe heatwave conditions (red alert) in Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, and Churu districts on Sunday. An orange alert for severe heatwave condition has been issued for Sunday for Jhunjhunu, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Bundi, Kota, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Nagaur districts.
In Haryana, Gurugram was the hottest place, recording a high of 46.8 degrees Celsius, while Ambala, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, Narnaul, Bhiwani, and Sirsa recorded their respective maximum temperatures of 44, 46, 43.2, 46.6, 45.5, 45.4 and 46.4 degrees Celsius.
Chandigarh, the common capital of Punjab and Haryana, registered mercury at 43.6 degrees Celsius, up by three degrees above normal.
In Punjab, Bathinda recorded its maximum at 46 degrees Celsius while Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Pathankot, and Gurdaspur recorded their respective maximums of 45.6, 45, 44, 43.8, and 43.5 degrees Celsius.
Moving up north, Jammu recorded the hottest day of the season so far with the mercury touching 43.5 degrees Celsius on Saturday as the heatwave intensified engulfing most parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
The maximum temperature in Jammu city was 6.6 degrees above season's average, forcing people to stay indoors especially in the afternoon. Jammu recorded a minimum temperature of 23.3 degrees Celsius which is almost near normal during this part of the season, an official of the Met department said.
He said Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, was the second hottest recorded place in the region with a high of 40.4 degrees Celsius and a low of 23.9 degrees Celsius.
The mercury is also on the rise over the past couple of days in Kashmir where Srinagar recorded a maximum of 31.3 degrees Celsius, which is 7.4 notches above normal, the official said, indicating a heatwave in different parts of the valley.
The weatherman has predicted relief from the heatwave from Monday evening owing to inclement weather.
"There is a possibility of continuation of the dry and clear weather till May 16.
Widespread moderate rain or thunderstorm with hail storm at some places and snow over higher reaches is most likely during May 16 (evening) till May 18," the official said.
(With Inputs From PTI)