Delhi heatwave: Minister Kiren Rijiju calls temperature spike to 52.3°C 'very unlikely', IMD says it will probe

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has called the drastic rise in Delhi's temperature to 52.3°C as very unlikely. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday reported an unprecedented temperature of 52.3 degrees Celsius (126.1 Fahrenheit) in Delhi's Mungeshpur area. This has sparked concern and debates on its accuracy.

However, meteorologist Soma Sen Roy has indicated that the accuracy of the report is currently under review.

Taking to social media platform X, the Minister of Earth Sciences said that senior officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) were tasked to verify the data. "It is not official yet. Temperature of 52.3°C in Delhi is very unlikely. Our senior officials in IMD have been asked to verify the news report. The official position will be stated soon {sic}," Rijiju said in his post on X.

IMD officials in an official statement said the recorded temperature could be either due to an error in the sensor or local factors. "The maximum temperature over Delhi NCR varied from 45.2 degrees Celcius to 49.1 degrees Celcius in different parts of the city, Mungeshpur reported 52.9°C as an outlier compared to other stations. It could be due to error in the sensor or the local factor. IMD is examining the data and sensors {sic}," the weather body said in its statement.

Earlier in the day, the IMD had issued a dire forecast for the next several days, calling for "heat wave to severe heat wave conditions at most places over Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh, at many places over Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, and at isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh."

The weather department also said that warm nighttime temperatures will continue in several areas of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Uttar Pradesh, offering minimal respite from the high temperatures.