Record temperatures were also recorded in many areas of the national capital.
New Delhi:
Delhi’s neighboring Gurgaon turned into a hot pan on Sunday, with the mercury touching an unbearably high of 48.1 degrees Celsius amid scorching heat in the northern region of the country. Unfortunately, no respite is expected in the coming days as the Met Office earlier in the day issued a red alert for Rajasthan along with a severe heat wave warning for northwest India.
A senior scientist said, “We have issued a yellow alert for severe heatwave for Rajasthan and tomorrow. Similarly, we have issued an orange alert for Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, East Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.” In the Indian Meteorological Department or IMD, Naresh Kumar.
Many parts of the national capital witnessed record temperature with Mungeshpur at 49.2 degrees Celsius and Najafgarh at 49.1 degrees Celsius.
Recently NASA shared a picture which showed “Heat Islands” in Delhi at night. The image taken shortly before local midnight on May 5 shows agricultural land in urban areas and northwest of Delhi.
Cities are generally warmer than the surrounding countryside due to human activities and the materials used in the built environment. The image clearly delineates these urban “heat islands”.
Night temperatures in Delhi and several small villages were above 95 °F (35 °C), peaking at around 102 °F (39 °C), while the surrounding rural areas were around 60 °F (15 °C). Till it had cooled down. The data shows that city residents are experiencing significantly higher temperatures than the average temperature in their areas.
Mr Kumar said, “In general, most parts of North West India including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have experienced severe heatwave conditions yesterday. Vidarbha has also experienced heat wave conditions. “
IMD uses four color codes for weather warnings – green (no action required), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared) and red (take action).
It said the heatwave could raise “moderate” health concerns for vulnerable people – infants, the elderly, people with chronic diseases – in the affected areas. “Therefore, people in these areas should avoid exposure to heat, wear light, light coloured, loose, cotton clothes and cover their heads with clothes, hats or umbrellas etc,” the Meteorological Department said.
The country faced its hottest March in more than 100 years and in April many places, including Delhi, recorded unusually high temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius on most days.