This is the first heat wave (about 45ºC or above) condition of the season in the capital where daytime is as long as 13 hours 36 minutes. Bright sunshine for major part of these hours is resulting in more heating which is driving the temperature.
Temperature in Delhi rose to 44.6 degrees and 46.2 degrees at Safdarjang and Palam observatories. The former observatory has recorded 45 degrees as maximum on 31st of May last year and it will not be surprising if it again records 45 or above in two days. This will only be the third instance in a decade when day temperature touched 45 degrees with the other recorded in 2010 on 18th of the month. The highest day temperature in Delhi for the month of May is 47.2 degrees recorded on 29th of the month 1944.
Temperatures in some other places like Hissar in Haryana recorded 46 degrees on Sunday, a five degrees above the average record of 40.7 degrees. In Hissar, maximum temperature may break last year’s record of 46.4 degrees registered on 31st of May in the next two days. The highest maximum temperature ever recorded in Hissar is 48.8 degrees on 21st May 1998.
Winds from the Thar desert would continue to make life uncomfortable in most parts of northwest, central and east India in the coming two days. Some respite is possible at isolated pockets over northwest India if winds become southwesterly as they contain some moisture and are a bit cooler than the westerly winds. But most of the places in the region especially over Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana will be under intense heat conditions.
These hot and dry winds could pick up speed to blow at around 40 kmph to bring dust along with a drop in temperatures at places it passes through. Temperature in Delhi will maintain the same trend in coming two days and there will not be any respite from the heat even during morning hours.
Hot and dry westerly winds will continue to reach central and east India in coming two days so temperatures will remain in mid-forties or above over interior Maharashtra. Nagpur that registered 47.3 degrees as maximum could see a further rise in day temperature. The highest ever May temperature in Nagpur is 47.8 degrees registered on 26th of May 1954. East Uttar Pradesh and adjoining areas of Bihar have temperatures in lower forties.
Rain will continue over north West Bengal and Sikkim and over northeast states during the next two days. Moisture feed from the Bay of Bengal and the cyclonic circulation over Assam persists. The wind-discontinuity from east Uttar Pradesh to south Tamil Nadu persists and due to this, rain will occur at one or two places over Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu during the next two to three days.
Chitradurga district in Karnataka had received 85.8 mm of rain since Saturday night till 8:30 am on Sunday. So, Chances of moderate to heavy rain could not be ruled out at isolated places over south interior Karnataka, Kerala and adjoining Tamil Nadu during the period.