The regional meteorological centre of New Delhi, the city’s official weather station, confirmed this blistering peak. Palam and Lodhi Road also endured severe heat, with temperatures hitting 43°C and 43.9°C respectively, while the Ridge area saw the mercury soar to 45.5°C.
Ayanagar had already experienced extreme heat on Friday, with temperatures reaching 44.8°C, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD’s official post on ‘X’ highlighted these forecasted conditions. It also said, “Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions very likely in many parts of Uttar Pradesh and few parts of Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Punjab, Bihar and Jharkhand whereas heatwave conditions very likely in isolated pockets of Jammu Division, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan.”
Additionally, the IMD forecast severe heatwave conditions in many parts of Uttar Pradesh, and a few parts of Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Punjab, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Isolated pockets of Jammu Division, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan were also expected to face heatwave conditions.
While North-Central and North-Western India grapple with intense heat, the IMD has forecasted heavy rainfall for the northeastern part of the country on Monday and Tuesday. The meteorological department issued orange and red alerts for several states in this region.
Arunachal Pradesh is expected to receive heavy (64.5-115.5 mm) to very heavy rainfall (115.5-204.4 mm) on June 17 and 18, 2024, prompting the IMD to issue an orange alert. Similarly, the states of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura are also likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall on the same days, as per the IMD’s forecast.