The temperature in Delhi has reached 48 degrees Celsius; The heatwave could be even worse, forecasters say

A scorching heat wave turned Delhi into a hot cauldron on Saturday, pushing the mercury at 47.2 degrees Celsius in Mungeshpur and 47 degrees Celsius in Najafgarh.

The maximum temperature in these places was at least seven degrees higher than normal.

The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi’s base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 44.2 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal and still the highest this season.

On Friday it was 42.5 degrees Celsius.

The mercury rose to 46.9 degrees Celsius at the Sports Complex in Delhi, 46.4 degrees Celsius at Pitampura, 45.8 degrees Celsius at Jafarpur and 45.4 degrees Celsius at Ridge and Ayanagar.

Weather forecasters said Sunday’s heatwave spell is set to get worse.

An ‘orange’ warning was issued on Sunday to warn people about the intense heat wave.

IMD uses four color codes for weather warning – green (no action required), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared) and red (take action).

However, cloudy skies and thunderstorms could bring some relief from the intense heat next week.

This is the fifth heatwave in the capital this summer – March one and April three.

With light rainfall due to weak western disturbances, Delhi recorded the second warmest April of the year since 1951 with a monthly average maximum temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius.

Towards the end of the month a heat wave sent mercury to 46 and 47 degrees Celsius in different parts of the city.

The capital received 0.3 mm of rainfall in April as against an average of 12.2 mm. In March, there was zero rainfall of 15.9 mm against normal.

The IMD forecast normal temperatures in May.

Heat flux is declared when the maximum temperature is above 40 degrees Celsius and the minimum is 4.5 degrees above normal. According to the IMD, a severe heatwave is declared if the exit from the normal temperature exceeds 6.4 notches.

Based on the absolute recorded temperature, a heat flux is declared when an area enters a maximum temperature of 45 সেল C.

When the maximum temperature exceeds 48 degrees Celsius, intense heat flow is declared.