Delhi heatwave: Orange alert issued, no relief for another 4 days

Delhi Heatwave: An orange alert has been issued in Delhi due to continuous severe heatwaves in the national capital. The Indian Meteorological Department had earlier predicted intense heatwaves from June 4, which is expected to continue for four more days with no sign of relief, said RK Jenamani, senior scientist at IMD. The expert also advised people in and around NCR to not step out of the house unless necessary, reported ANI. The orange weather alert is the ‘be prepared’ sign and is issued as a warning to the administration to be prepared for emergencies.

Meanwhile, the heatwave spell tightened its grip on parts of Delhi on Sunday, with the mercury breaching the 45-degree Celsius mark in six localities.

Delhi | Orange alert in Delhi. Severe heatwave from June 4 in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, UP & parts of MP, Rajasthan. Temp varying b/w 44°-47°. Shall continue for 4 more days. We advise people to venture out carefully as heat spell very severe: RK Jenamani, senior scientist IMD pic.twitter.com/04YwyVE6F1 — ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2022

At the Safdarjung Observatory, the city's base station, the maximum temperature settled at 44.2 degrees Celsius as against 43.9 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 42.9 degrees Celsius on Friday.

Maximum temperature in Delhi in the past days

The mercury jumped to 47.3 degrees, seven notches above normal, at Mungeshpur, making it the hottest place in the capital.

Sports Complex, Pitampura, Najafgarh, Jafarpur and Ridge recorded a high of 46.6 degrees Celsius, 46.2 degrees Celsius, 46.3 degrees Celsius, 45.1 degrees Celsius and 45.7 degrees Celsius respectively.

Yellow alert for isolated spots in Delhi

The Met Office has issued a "yellow" alert, warning of heatwave conditions at isolated places in Delhi on Monday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) uses four colour codes for weather warnings -- "green" (no action needed), "yellow" (watch and stay updated), "orange" (be prepared) and "red" (take action).

Pre-monsoon activity likely from June 10

Meanwhile, Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (climate change and meteorology), Skymet Weather informed that Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, north Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradesh may see pre-monsoon activity on and off from June 10. He also said that the maximum temperature in the capital may drop to 40-41 degrees Celsius by Saturday.

According to IMD, a heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius and at least 4.5 notches above normal. A severe heatwave is declared if the departure from normal temperature is by more than 6.4 notches, according to the IMD.

(With agency inputs)