Severe heatwave grips North-West India, Najafgarh records 47.8 highest in country

A severe Heatwave continued to grip North-West India, as Najafgarh in Delhi recorded 47.8 degrees Celsius highest in the country today. Mungeshpur and Pitampura also sizzled at 47.7 degrees Celsius and 47 degrees Celsius.

However, various parts in the national capital registered maximum temperatures in the range of 45-47 degrees Celsius, which is four to six degrees above the normal range.

Ayanagar recorded a maximum temperature of 46.4 degrees Celsius, while Palam and Ridge saw maximum temperatures reaching 45.1 degrees Celsius and 45.9 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The minimum temperature was 28.2 degrees Celsius, two degrees above the normal range.

According to the IMD, most areas in Delhi were hotter as compared to cities in neighbouring Rajasthan, a state which has the Thar Desert and is known for having temperatures breaching the 50-degree Celsius mark.

In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Agra recorded the second-highest temperature at 47.7 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the IMD has issued a red alert for Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and West Rajasthan and an orange alert for East Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar due to the heatwave conditions.

The weather agency said heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are very likely in many pockets in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi till Wednesday.

Heatwave conditions are predicted in some parts of East Uttar Pradesh, West Uttar Pradesh, and pockets of Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha until May 22. Similar conditions are expected to prevail in Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal, and Jharkhand until May 20.

In Kerala, as heavy rain continues, the Met Department predicts heavy rains along with thunder and lightning to continue for the next seven days in the State. Red alert is issued in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Idukki districts for the next three days.

An orange alert has been declared for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Ernakulam districts, while a yellow alert has been issued for the remaining seven districts.