As many parts of India are eagerly waiting for the monsoon there is a bad news for Delhi. Scorching heat is back. Mercury is expected to breach 45 degree Celsius mark today. According to IMD officials, the national capital will experience extremely hot afternoon and people should try to stay indoors.??
At 42.3 degrees Celsius, the capital witnessed yet another hot day on Saturday. Palam was the hottest at 44.8 degrees Celsius.
BCCL/Representational Image
The minimum temperature on Saturday was 30 degrees Celsius, while the humidity levels were recorded between between 28% and 55% in the past 24 hours.
"The temperatures are rising as very little rainfall has occurred in the past week. Warm westerly winds are currently blowing in the city, while the humidity levels are also up," said a senior Met official. Delhi is likely to get respite from the heatwave only after July 2 when a spell of light rain and thunder activity are likely to return, the official said.
BCCL
"A fresh western disturbance will influence the region from July 2 onwards, when rainfall can be expected. Delhi can also see monsoon showers by the end of the first week of July," the official added.
Heatwave has caused deaths in other parts of india as well. On June 15, heatwave killed more than 40 people n Bihar. The state is already?grappling under acute encephalitis syndrome in Muzaffarpur that has already killed close to 80 children?in the state.
Aurangabad, Gaya and Nawada have the highest number of deaths resulting from severe heatwave that has swept the country.
Twenty-seven people died in Aurangabad and 12 people died in Gaya due to heat stroke.
According to an TOI report, the frequency of heat waves and their duration in India may begin to increase from as early as 2020, says a study by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).
The study said ¡°El Nino Modoki¡±, a weather system different from El Nino, could be responsible for the increase in heat waves in India. Depletion of soil moisture and transfer of heat from the earth to the atmosphere would also trigger them.
These events are likely to happen between 2020 and 2064, affecting parts of southern India and coastal regions that have till now largely escaped heat waves.