Delhi will escape heatwave for some more days: Met Department

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday said that though many parts of the country are facing extreme heat conditions and heat wave, Delhi might see some more days of comfortable weather. Parts of India, particularly in the east and northeast, are experiencing a severe heat wave. Even in southern state of Kerala, schools have been closed until May 6 due to the intense heat. However, Delhi, the national capital, has remained relatively cooler with temperatures staying below 40 degrees Celsius. 

Naresh Kumar, a scientist at the IMD, told Business Standard that Delhii will be spared for another few days. In May, the national capital may see temperatures touch 40 degree Celsius. 

Explaining why Delhi is presently seeing comfortable weather, Kumar said the presence of strong winds and overcast skies caused by western disturbances during April has helped moderate the temperature in Delhi.

“When there is a clear sky, chances of heat wave occurrence increase. Since there were no clear skies in Northwest India this month and even last month, there was no rise in temperatures,” Kumar said.

Earlier in the day, IMD predicted that Delhi may receive light rains. Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh will also receive light rains in the next five days.

On May 1, IMD said that above normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of the country in May and a significantly high number of heat wave days are expected over the northern plains, central region, and adjoining areas of peninsular India. IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said some areas such as south Rajasthan, west Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, and Marathwada are expected to witness five to eight higher number of heatwave days this month.

There will be two to four higher heatwave days over remaining parts of Rajasthan, east Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Chhattisgarh, interior Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, north interior Karnataka and Telangana and isolated pockets of north Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh during the month.

On Friday, IMD issued a severe heatwave alert till May 5 over Gangetic West Bengal, coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Gujarat, parts of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The Peninsular region may continue to be affected by severe heatwave until May 6. 

In its update, the IMD said, "Heat wave conditions likely to continue over East India till 05th and over south Peninsular India till May 6 and abate thereafter."

As of May 2, 2024, regions in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha experienced the highest temperatures. The highest temperature of 46.2 degrees Celsius was recorded in the Rayalseema region of Andhra Pradesh. This was followed by Palawancha in Telangana which recorded a temperature of 45.3 degrees Celsius, as reported by IMD.