42.4°C: Capital sizzles on hottest April day in 5 yrs

NEW DELHI: Delhi recorded its hottest April day in five years on Saturday as the maximum temperature rose to 42.4 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung.

Before this, the month was last hotter in 2017, when the city recorded a temperature of 43.2°on April 21.

The maximum temperature at Safdarjung observatory, Delhi’s base weather station, was eight degrees above normal on Saturday and nearly a degree higher than the previous day’s 41.6°C, when the Capital reported its first severe heatwave of the year.

Experts attributed the high temperature to dry hot westerly winds blowing from Rajasthan to Delhi, clear skies, and the absence of rain. Delhi has seen no rain since the end of February.

Severe heatwave conditions continued to prevail across Delhi amid the weather bureau’s orange alert on Saturday, with all weather stations recording temperatures above 40°C. A heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature is over 40°C and 4.5 degrees above normal, and a severe heatwave is when the temperature is above 40°C and 6.5°C above normal.

Severe heatwave readings were recorded at Palam (42.7°C), Mungeshpur (43°C), Ridge (43.9°C), Aya Nagar (43.6°C) and Lodhi Road (42.8°C) stations.

Saturday also saw the highest maximum temperature in the first half of April in the past 72 years, according to India Meteorological Department data going back to 1951.

A review of data for the first 15 days of April over the past 72 years between 1951-2022 showed that a high of 42.4 degrees was recorded for the first time at Safdarjung on Saturday, said RK Jenamani, scientist at the India Meteorological Department.

Before this, the highest temperature in the first 15 days of April was 41.6°C in 2010. The same temperature was recorded this Friday.

Delhi has been setting weather records every month since August 2020. In March, its monthly maximum was the fourth highest since 1951, behind 2021 (33.1°C), 2004 (33.4°C) and 1953 (34.4°C). The mean minimum temperature was the second-highest for March since 1951, behind 2010 and 1953, which jointly recorded a mean minimum average of 18.5°C.

There is the possibility of cloud cover from April 12, due to which the severity might be relatively lower even though the temperature will stay above normal, the Met department had said on Friday.

The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 42 degrees Celsius on Saturday, according to the weather department’s seven-day forecast. heatwave conditions in some parts with severe heatwave conditions in isolated pockets over Delhi and Punjab and Haryana are expected till Monday.

Heatwave conditions are likely over Delhi, Punjab and Haryana on April 12 and 13.