So far, the Easterly winds prevailing in the region under the impact of Cyclone Asani kept the mercury in check. "Without the easterly winds, temperatures would have leaped to 46-47 degrees Celsius," said Mahesh Palawat, Vice President (Meteorology and Climate Change), Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency.
Easterly winds made the way for hot and dry westerly winds by Thursday which pushed the mercury up, he said. Back-to-back patchy rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds had provided some respite from the intense heat last week.
Delhi had witnessed a hot and dry March, gauging nil rainfall against the normal of 15.9 mm. It got 0.3 mm of rainfall in April against a monthly average of 12.2 mm. A heatwave at the month-end had sent the mercury soaring to 46 and 47 degrees Celsius in several parts of Delhi.
Officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heatwave conditions are likely to be declared over the Capital, with a ‘yellow’ alert in place for Friday and Saturday. The maximum temperature on these two days will range between 44°C and 46°C at most stations, as per Hindustan Times report.
An ‘orange’ alert — warning of severe heatwave conditions — is in place for Sunday, when the maximum could jump to between 45°C and 47°C in places, IMD said.
Meanwhile, officials said the mercury shot up across the city by three to four degrees as the impact of Cyclone Asani waned from Tuesday evening, when it stopped bringing moisture-laden easterly winds to the Capital.
On Tuesday, Delhi saw a maximum temperature of 39.5°C. It got hotter on Wednesday, at 41.4°C, then 42.5°C on Thursday, with IMD forecasting a high of around 44°C at Safdarjung on Friday.
(With inputs from agencies)
