GURUGRAM: Some relief from the heat is in the offing with another western disturbance approaching the western Himalayan region on Sunday night. This is expected to cause thunderstorms and dust storms with a possibility of drizzle at isolated places in Haryana on Monday.
The respite is likely to be short-lived — another spell of heatwave is expected from Tuesday onwards according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which has issued a yellow alert for south Haryana.
On Saturday, the maximum temperature was 41.7 degrees Celsius, up from 40.4 degrees Celsius on the previous day. It was three notches above the season’s normal. The minimum temperature saw a slight drop from Friday’s 24 degrees Celsius to 23 degrees Celsius, but was still two notches above normal. The relative humidity index oscillated between 32% and 54% throughout the day.
This summer, the city has so far already witnessed three spells of heatwaves — March 28-31, April 2-11 and April 13-20. Most of April so far has seen either heatwave or severe heatwave conditions, except for five days. In contrast, April 2021 saw only four heatwave days. The IMD has attributed prolonged dry spell and lack of moisture to the long and continuous spell of heatwaves. “We generally see three-four active western disturbances in April, which helps prevent a significant rise in temperature. Though there has been frequent formation of the weather system this time, its impact has been limited to the northern parts of the country. As a result, no significant rainfall has been recorded in most parts of Haryana,” said Manmohan Singh, director, IMD Chandigarh.
He added, “Another western disturbance is approaching. Under its influence, isolated thunderstorms and dust storms are expected on Monday. There will be no significant change in the daytime temperature over the next two days. Thereafter it will rise by 3-4 degrees Celsius from April 26.”
For Sunday, IMD’s forecast says there will be mainly clear skies with the minimum and maximum temperature likely to hover around 25 and 42 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Meanwhile, Delhi saw a slight rise in the daytime temperature on Saturday, thereby continuing the respite from heatwaves for the third day in a row, even as some areas recorded maximum temperatures over 41 degrees Celsius.
IMD said the maximum temperature was recorded at 39.5 degrees Celsius at the city’s base station Safdarjung. The minimum temperature was 20.6 degrees Celsius.
