The regions in North India continue to fight their battle against one of the hottest summers the country has seen. In Delhi, the lack of rain has kept the temperature soaring high during the day and night.
There has not been a single day this month that the maximum temperature has been below the 41-degree mark, something which has not been observed since at least 2011, The Indian Express reported.
Red alert issued for Delhi
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for the city on Tuesday, forecasting temperatures to reach 45 degrees Celsius and predicting heatwave conditions for most areas.
On June 17, the maximum temperature was recorded at 45.2 degrees Celsius, six degree above normal. The minimum temperature was recorded at 33 degrees Celsius, which is five degrees above the normal.
The city has seen minimum temperatures exceed 30 degrees on 10 out of the past seven days in June, offering no relief. During the third week of June, the city’s normal minimum temperature is around 27.5 degrees.
A senior IMD official said, “During summers, discomfort is more significant, and more obviously felt when the minimum temperatures are high. While the maximum temperatures have been significantly above normal since the middle of May, the past few days have been significantly hotter because the minimum temperature has been in the range of 33 degrees Celsius.”
The maximum temperature is expected to drop only slightly to 42 degrees, while the minimum will remain between 33 and 34 degrees Celsius for the rest of the week. By Sunday, the maximum temperature is forecast to rise again to 44 degrees.