New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Delhi, UP, Haryana and Punjab amid an intense heatwave that has swept the national capital and surrounding states over the last week. Temperatures are soaring above 46 degrees across north India including in Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand. In Bihar, 22 people died due to severe heat and high humidity in the last 24 hours.
In the national capital, the maximum temperature is likely to settle around 45 degrees Celsius, over 6 degrees higher than the normal temperature for June. According to IMD, the heat index, or the feels-like temperature, in Delhi surged to 50 degrees Celsius on Monday.
A Delhi to West Bengal IndiGo flight was delayed by over three hours on Monday due to a technical snag which resulted from high ground temperatures. While the national capital will experience slight relief from Wednesday due to scattered rains and duststorms, no long-term relief is in sight for now.
In Uttarakhand, Dehradun recorded a maximum temperature of 43.1 degrees Celsius while Mussorie sizzled at 43 degrees Celsius. Even hill towns like Pauri and Nainital are experiencing a heatwave after little to no rainfall in the last three months.
Hill state Himachal Pradesh has recorded a temperature of 44 degrees — 6.7 notches above average. In Jammu and Kashmir, Katra recorded a maximum temperature of 40.8 degrees Celsius, while mercury touched 44.3 degrees in Jammu.
In UP’s Prayagraj, the maximum temperature was recorded at 47.6 degrees Celsius.
