New Delhi: Delhi reeled under heatwave for a third day on the trot and recorded a maximum temperature of 43.1 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the highest in July since 2012, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) saying there is "no chance" of monsoon reaching the city till July 7. The maximum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, stood at 43.1 degrees Celsius, the highest for the month of July in nine years. The minimum temperature settled at 31.7 degrees Celsius.
The Capital had recorded a maximum of 43.5 degrees Celsius on July 2, 2012. The highest maximum temperature for July last year was 41.6 degrees Celsius. It was 42.2 degrees Celsius in 2019, 40.1 degrees Celsius in 2018, 38.5 degrees Celsius in 2017 and 39.8 degrees Celsius in 2016 and 2015.
The monitoring station at Mungeshpur recorded a maximum temperature of 45.2 degrees Celsius, the highest in the city on Thursday and eight notches above normal.
A severe heatwave baked Lodhi Road (43 degrees Celsius), Ridge (43.9), Narela (43.4), Najafgarh (44) and Pitampura (44.3), where the maximum temperature was at least seven degrees Celsius above normal.
For the plains, a "heatwave" is declared when the maximum temperature is more than 40 degrees Celsius, and at least 4.5 notches above normal. A "severe" heatwave is declared if the departure from normal temperature is more than 6.5 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD.
On Tuesday, Delhi recorded the first heatwave of this summer with the mercury levels increasing to 43 degrees Celsius. A heatwave swept the national capital on Wednesday, too, with the mercury soaring to 43.6 degrees Celsius, the highest recorded this year so far, the IMD said. Another heatwave is likely on Friday. The intensity of the heatwave and its area coverage are likely to decrease thereafter due to expected south-westerly winds from the Arabian Sea. But there won't be much relief during the next seven days due to the increase in humidity, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said.
He said there is "no chance" of Delhi and its neighbouring areas receiving monsoon rains till July 7. After that, the region will witness below-normal rainfall till the middle of this month.
Meanwhile, the national Capital's peak power demand crossed 7,000 MW on Thursday afternoon, the highest in this season so far, as the city sizzled under heatwave conditions with the maximum temperature soaring up to 43.1 degrees Celsius.
According to the real-time data of the Delhi State Load Dispatch Centre, the peak power demand reached 7,026 MW at 3.30 pm.