Orange alert in Delhi as national capital records April’s hottest day in 5 years
India Today
IMD issued an Orange alert in the national capital for Sunday as it recorded the highest maximum temperature in the month of April in five years at 42.4 degrees Celsius.
Delhi on Saturday witnessed the highest maximum temperature in five years in the month of April, with the temperatures rising to 42.4 degrees Celsius, while nearing the 45-degree mark in the neighbouring Gurugram.
The severe heatwave sweeping across the national capital intensified further on Saturday with an Orange alert issued for the national capital for Sunday too.
ALSO READ | Delhi feels the heat: How does India measure heatwave and why temperatures that define it are so highThough Delhi is likely to experience slight relief from the heat on Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a Yellow alert for Monday.
The IMD uses four colour codes for weather warnings -- green (no action needed), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared) and red (take action).
Previously, the capital had recorded a maximum temperature of 43.2 degrees Celsius on April 21, 2017. The all-time highest maximum temperature for the month was 45.6 degrees Celsius on April 29, 1941.
According to IMD, this is the first time in 72 years that Delhi has recorded such a high temperature in the first nine days of April.At 44.5 degrees Celsius, Gurugram was 10 degrees warmer than average. Gurugram's all-time high maximum temperature of 44.8 degrees Celsius was recorded on April 28, 1979. The maximum temperature in Haryana’s Faridabad was at 45.2 degrees Celsius.All automatic weather stations in the city recorded maximum temperatures above 42 degrees Celsius except SPS Mayur Vihar which had recorded a high of 40.2 degrees Celsius.The IMD predicts cloudy conditions to bring some relief from the stifling heat from Tuesday.Parts of the national capital have been reeling under a heatwave since last week with maximum temperatures hovering above 40 degrees Celsius.
According to IMD officials, a prolonged dry spell has led to "severe" hot weather conditions in northwest India and that the region along with adjoining parts of central India are predicted to see more intense and frequent heatwave conditions in April.
