GURUGRAM: At 46.2 degrees Celsius, the maximum temperature in the city soared to an all-time high in April on Saturday, as residents faced severe heatwave conditions. It was seven notches above the normal and up from 45.9 degrees Celsius on Friday. The minimum temperature was 26.2 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal.
The respite from the sweltering heat is not likely for at least the next two days, with the IMD issuing an orange alert for Sunday. According to the IMD, heatwave conditions are likely to continue till Monday and its intensity will start decreasing gradually due to an approaching western disturbance, which may cause thunderstorms and dust storm activity on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This year, the city has been witnessing unprecedented heat, with a rapid rise in temperature since March and the situation has been no different in April, which has been breaking all previous records. This year, April has been hotter than the previous year, with the average maximum temperature at 42.2 degrees, nearly four degrees higher than 38.6 degrees in April 2021. Similarly, the nights have been warmer, with an average minimum temperature of 23.7 degrees in comparison with 20.6 degrees for the same period last year. A total of 22 days in April this year have either seen heatwave or severe heatwave conditions.
“It is the driest April in a decade for Haryana as only 0.6 mm rain was received. Gurugram remained largely deficient, with only 0.1 mm rain. Most of the cities in Haryanahave been experiencing intense heatwaves due to prolonged dry spells, prevailing warm winds from Rajasthan and clear skies. At 46.2 degrees, this was the highest ever temperature in April in Gurugram as per available data,” said Manmohan Singh, director, IMD Chandigarh.
He added that the intensity of the heatwave is likely to reduce from Tuesday onwards. On Sunday, there will be partly cloudy conditions, with the minimum and maximum temperatures likely to hover around 27 and 46 degrees Celsius, respectively.
