New Delhi:
Amid a relentless heat wave building in northwestern India, the maximum temperature in Gurgaon has passed 45 degrees today. The maximum temperature today was 45.6 degrees Celsius, the Indian Meteorological Department said.
Here are the 10 updates on the heat wave in North India
The high temperatures in Gurgaon come on a day when the weather department has warned that five states will experience their “hottest summer on record”.
A heat wave warning has been issued for Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, UP and Odisha.
“Increase by about 2 degrees Celsius at maximum temperatures, very likely in most parts of northwestern India over the next three days and then decrease by about 2 degrees Celsius,” the Indian Meteorological Department said.
The IMD also said the heat wave could lead to “moderate” health problems for vulnerable people – infants, the elderly, those with chronic illnesses – in affected areas.
The maximum temperature in New Delhi today was 43.5 degrees Celsius.
Northwestern India has been registering higher than normal temperatures since March last week, with weather experts attributing this to the absence of active western disturbances over northern India and any major system over southern India.
The region had a brief hiatus last week due to cloudy weather due to the impact of a westerly disturbance over Afghanistan.
A yellow warning has been issued for a heat wave in the national capital from April 28.
With the rising temperature, the demand for power in the national capital and surrounding areas has also increased significantly. On Thursday, electricity demand in Delhi crossed the 6,000 MW mark for the first time in April.
Rajasthan has scheduled four hours of power outages for factories, making it the third state after Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh to suspend industrial activity to manage rising electricity demand during an intense heat wave.