New Delhi, May 17: A brutal heat wave swept swathes of northwest India on Friday, with the maximum temperature soaring to a scorching 47.4 degrees Celsius in southwest Delhi’s Najafgarh, the highest in the country so far this season.
The mercury breached 45 degrees Celsius at 19 places in Rajasthan, 18 in Haryana, eight in Delhi and two in Punjab.
Conditions are expected to turn worse with the severe heat wave over the northwest Indian plains predicted to continue during the next five days.
Researchers at Climate Central, a US-based group of climate scientists, said 543 million (54.3 crore) people in India will experience at least one day of extreme heat during this period.
“Human-caused climate change has made this intense heat much more likely. The high overnight temperatures make this event particularly alarming,” said Andrew Pershing, vice-president for science at Climate Central.
On Friday, maximum temperatures surged to 47.4 degrees Celsius in Najafgarh and 47.1 in Haryana’s Sirsa.
According to India Meteorological Data (IMD) data till 7:30 pm, Najafgarh was the warmest place in the country.
Before this, Kalaikunda in the Gangetic West Bengal region had recorded a high of 47.2 degrees Celsius on April 30.
In Delhi, the mercury settled at 46.5 degrees Celsius in Mungeshpur, 46.2 degrees in Aya Nagar, 45.9 degrees in Pusa and Jafarpur, 45.8 degrees in Pitampura and 45.1 degrees in Palam.
Severe heatwave conditions are very likely in some parts of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi during May 18-21, the IMD warned.
A fresh heatwave spell will commence over east and central India from Saturday.
The Met office issued a red alert for west Rajasthan, stressing the need for “extreme care for vulnerable people”.
It issued an orange alert for Haryana, Punjab, east Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat and emphasised “high health concern” for vulnerable people, including infants, the elderly and those with chronic diseases.
