Heat wave in India breaks 122-yr-old record; Delhi on yellow alert

Parts of Northwest and North India are on the precipice of another punishing heat wave spell, even as the Indian Meteorological Department confirmed that this year’s March was the hottest in over a century and April has yet hotter days in store before it wanes.

Delhi According to the latest forecast, Delhi is predicted to see a jump of two to three degrees Celsius in the maximum temperature on Wednesday. The Safdarjung Observatory — Delhi’s base station — had recorded a maximum temperature of 40.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. It is expected to breach the 42-degree mark on Wednesday and soar to 44 degrees Celsius by Thursday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The maximum temperature may even leap to 46 degrees Celsius in parts of Delhi, a Met department official said.

The capital had recorded a maximum temperature of 43.2 degrees Celsius on April 21, 2017. The all-time high maximum temperature for the month was 45.6 degrees Celsius on April 29, 1941. A yellow alert warning of a heat wave spell in the national capital starting April 28 has been issued. The city has recorded eight heat wave days in April this year, the maximum since 11 such days witnessed in the month in 2010.