The scorching heat waves forced Delhiites to stay indoors on Monday with the maximum temperature touching 43.4 degrees Celsius. According to weathermen, the city will continue to be under scorching heat waves till the weekend as maximum temperature will be above 42 degrees Celsius. It will also witness dust storms and thunderstorms. However, they have predicted some rain in West Delhi, Airport and in adjoining areas of Haryana on Monday evening.
“The maximum temperature on Monday was recorded at 43.4 degrees Celsius which was three notches above normal, while the minimum was recorded at 26.4 degrees Celsius with no variation from normal,” said a senior officer at Regional Meteorological Center, Delhi. “It was the average temperature of Delhi but some areas were even hotter,” he added. As per the weather report of RMC, Palam was hottest on Monday with maximum temperature at 45.2 degrees Celsius and minimum at 27.7 degree Celsius. Millennium City Gurgaon and Ridge areas in Delhi witnessed temperature of 44.8 degrees while the maximum temperature in Noida settled at 42.9 degrees Celsius. The weathermen have predicted maximum and minimum temperature on Tuesday to hover around 43 and 26 degrees Celsius respectively.
“The sky will mainly remain clear while haze is likely to occur towards morning,” he added. In a separate weather bulletin, released at 6 pm on Monday due to sudden change in local weather conditions, RMC has predicted thunderstorm with rains in adjoining areas of some places of West Delhi including IGI Airport, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Bahadurgarch, Charkhidadari and Kosli.
As the city is reeling under strong heat waves, the vendors of Bel ka sharbat (juice of wood apple), shikanji, and cold water have come up in each and every part of the city and even on bridges over Yamuna. “It’s very necessary for the commuters to keep themselves hydrated in the summer for which shikanji and juice of wood apple is beneficial. You must not drink cold drinks as it pushes the body towards hydration which is injurious to health,” said Satyendar Jain, Delhi’s Health Minister.