According to the IMD, heatwave to severe heatwave conditions prevailed in several places of Haryana, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and adjoining Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
Several states across India sweltered under blistering heat on Thursday, with Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district again emerging as the hottest place in the country at 47.6 degrees Celsius.
According to the IMD, heat wave to severe heat wave conditions prevailed in several places of Haryana, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and adjoining Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
The national capital, Delhi, continued to witness intense heat as temperatures hovered around 45 degrees Celsius.
The Ridge weather station recorded 45.3 degrees Celsius, making it the hottest place in Delhi, the Met department said. The second hottest place was Ayanagar, where the maximum temperature touched 44.5 degrees Celsius, followed by Palam and Lodhi Road, each registering 44.3 degrees Celsius, while Safdarjung recorded 43.6 degrees Celsius.
Delhi also reported its first heatstroke patient of the season — a 24-year-old student from West Bengal who was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Officials said he remains critical after being brought unconscious to the facility on Thursday morning.
In Uttar Pradesh, Banda again recorded the highest temperature in the country with 47.6 degrees Celsius.
The Meteorological Department issued a ‘Red Colour Warning’ for the next three days and an Orange Warning thereafter in view of the possibility of heatwave to severe heatwave conditions and warm night conditions at isolated places across the state over the next week.
In view of the severe heatwave and continuously rising temperatures in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to exercise complete vigilance regarding relief and rescue operations.
A red warning is the highest level of weather alert, meaning “take action”.
According to the Meteorological Centre in Lucknow, the absence of any active weather system, enhanced radiational heating due to clear skies and dry weather, and the subsidence of hot winds associated with an anticyclone over central India in the middle tropospheric levels have aggravated the heat conditions in the state.
Similar conditons previaled in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab.
Haryana’s Sirsa, with 45.8 degrees Celsius, and Punjab’s Faridkot, with 45.9 degrees Celsius, turned out to be the hottest places in the two states.
Chandigarh braved yet another hot day at 44.2 degrees Celsius, over four notches above normal, according to the Met here. In Haryana, sweltering heat swept Rohtak at 45.5 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal.
Ambala recorded a high of 44.2 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal, while Hisar recorded a high of 44.3 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal. Karnal recorded a high of 43.8 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal while Bhiwani braved a hot day at 44 degrees Celsius.
The maximum at Gurugram settled at 42 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Bathinda registered the maximum temperature at 45.6 degrees Celsius, while Patiala recorded 44.9 degrees Celsius, five degrees more than normal. Ludhiana saw temperatures rising to 43 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal and Amritsar at 41.5 degrees Celsius.
In Rajasthan, Sri Ganganagar was the hottest place with the maximum temperature of 45.1 degrees Celsius.
Phalodi recorded a maximum of 44.8 degrees Celsius, while Pilani and Alwar registered 44 degrees Celsius each, according to the Meteorological Department.
The mercury settled at 43.8 degrees Celsius in Chittorgarh, 43.6 degrees Celsius in Barmer, and 43.4 degrees Celsius in Churu. Heat wave conditions persisted at several places in Himachal Pradesh, with mercury levels staying three to five degrees above normal.
Una sizzled at 44.3 degrees Celsius, followed by Neri at 41.0 degrees and Sundernagar at 39.9 degrees. The local Meteorological station issued an orange alert for thunderstorms, along with lightning, hail and gusty winds for five districts of Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Shimla for May 22.
In Uttarakhand, the administration advised children, senior citizens, and outdoor workers to exercise special caution. The weather office warned that temperatures in the plains may exceed 40 degrees Celsius, while hill districts will likely breach the 30 degrees Celsius mark.
