Delhi Records Historic 52.9°C Temperature: IMD Investigates Sensor Accuracy Amid Heatwave

 

The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) is looking into the temperature sensor at the Mungeshpur Automatic Weather Station in Delhi to see if it's working properly, according to M. Mohapatra, Director General of the IMD. The hottest temperature ever recorded in India was 52.9 degrees Celsius, as reported by this weather station today. According to Dr. Mohapatra, the average temperature in Delhi is between 45 and 50 degrees Celsius. Of the 20 monitoring stations in the city, 14 have shown a decrease in temperature. The Mungeshpur station is a "outlier," he said, and the recording has to be confirmed. While some Delhi observatories recorded marginally higher temperatures, a careful examination of the Mungeshpur recording is necessary.

A group of specialists has been dispatched to Mungeshpur to examine the temperature sensor, Dr. Mohapatra continued. Additionally, he conjectured that the elevated recording could be attributed to regional elements in the Mungeshpur area.

The highest temperature in DelhiNCR varied from 45.2 to 49.1 degrees Celsius in various areas of the city, according to a statement released by the IMD Thursday evening. Mungeshpur's recorded temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius could have been caused by local conditions or by a sensor malfunction. The sensor and data are being examined by the IMD."

Minister of Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju stated, "This is not official yet. In Delhi, 52.3 degrees Celsius is a very uncommon temperature. We have requested our senior IMD personnel to confirm the news report. Soon, the official status will be disclosed."

Kuldeep Srivastava, the regional chief of the IMD, explained that scorching winds from Rajasthan initially affect the city's outskirts. This is why temperatures are rising. He stated to PTI that "the already extreme weather conditions could be exacerbated in certain parts of Delhi due to the early arrival of these hot winds." First to feel the heat are places like Mungeshpur, Narela, and Najafgarh."

Temperatures on the second day of the heatwave broke records by nine degrees Celsius, one degree over the record of 49.2 degrees Celsius set in 2002. There was some rain in Delhi on Wednesday night, which is expected to raise the humidity levels. The highest temperature in 79 years was recorded at Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's main weather station, with a maximum temperature of 46.8 degrees Celsius. The anticipated population of Delhi is around 30 million, and the IMD has issued a red alert health notification for the city. The advisory stated that "people of all ages are at very high risk of heat illness and heat stroke," or "extreme care is needed for vulnerable individuals."

Although India has extremely hot summers year-round, years of scientific study have demonstrated that heatwaves are becoming longer, more frequent, and more intense due to climate change. According to officials from the electricity department, as more people began using energy-intensive air conditioning units during the heat wave, Delhi had an all-time high electricity demand of 8,302 megawatts (MW).

Other areas experiencing exceptionally high temperatures include Sirsa in Haryana (50.3 degrees Celsius) and Phalodi (50.8 and 51 degrees Celsius). Districts in southern Rajasthan, including Barmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Sirohi, and Jalore, saw a decrease of up to 4 degrees Celsius today due to the entrance of moist air from the Arabian Sea, signaling the start of a reduction in the heatwave in northwest India. The Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) data indicates that this dropping trend will travel northward, gradually relieving the hot conditions starting on May 30. NWP data is derived from computer models that process current weather measurements to predict future weather.

Furthermore, starting on Thursday, the Bay of Bengal's moist winds are predicted to gradually lower Uttar Pradesh's highest temperatures.