New Delhi: Another heatwave, the fourth on the trot, troubled Delhi on Friday, before a bout of rains and cool winds brought much-needed respite from searing temperatures and smile on the faces of residents in the city.
The maximum temperature at the Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, stood at 41.3 degrees Celsius, two notches less than that recorded on Thursday. The minimum temperature was 27.1 degrees Celsius.
In the evening, dark grey clouds swarmed Delhi, as cool, gusty winds barrelled through the Capital, bringing the mercury down by a few notches.
Due to the strong winds, 15 trees were uprooted in areas under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, while one tree was uprooted in the East Delhi Municipal Corporation area.
There were no official reports of such incidents from the North Delhi Munucipal Corporation. Parts of Delhi reported light rain and people posted videos of it on social media.
The monitoring station at Palam recorded 26 mm rain, Lodhi Road 2.5 mm, and Safdarjung 0.4 mm precipitation, the meteorological office said.
Cloudy skies and light rain are predicted for Saturday. The maximum temperature may drop by two degrees Celsius, the IMD said.
Sunday might see thunderstorms with temperatures ranging from 27 to 40 degrees Celsius. However, the rest of the week ahead is expected to see only light showers with maximum temperature predicted to reach 40-41 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Delhi's public works department (PWD) has asked its officials to work "day and night" to finish de-silting of drains before arrival of monsoon and said responsibility of executive engineers will be fixed in case of "untoward incident" due to waterlogging. "The progress of de-silting was reviewed last week and it was observed that some of the executive engineers are far behind their target," the department's Engineer-in-Chief, Shashi Kant, said.
Kant has also issued a circular, stressing that the responsibility of executive engineers will be fixed in case of any "untoward incident" due to waterlogging.
Last year, a delay in cleaning of drains had led to extensive waterlogging in many parts of the city due to heavy rains and a 56-year-old man allegedly drowned after his mini-truck was submerged under the Minto Bridge in central Delhi.
Chief engineers of maintenance zones have been directed to take necessary remedial measures and instruct executive engineers to "work day and night for de-silting of
drains so that it is completed within minimum possible time," Kant said.
As a heatwave scorched the national Capital for the fourth day in a row, Delhi's peak power demand scaled a new high of 7,323 MW on Friday afternoon with CM Arvind Kejriwal saying that despite the sharp rise, electricity supply remained uninterrupted.