States in northern India recorded their highest temperatures of the season on Friday as heatwave conditions intensified across the country, with Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan recording a maximum of 49.6 degrees Celsius, PTI reported. The city broke a 75-year record for the month of May.
The previous highest temperature recorded in May in Sri Ganganagar was 49.4 degrees Celsius on May 30, 1944. Friday was the second consecutive day when the temperature hit 48 degrees Celsius or more in Sri Ganganagar.
In Delhi, India Meteorological Department issued the highest “red-colour” warning as it recorded the season’s highest of 44.8 degrees Celsius. However, according to private weather body Skymet, the maximum temperature touched the 47-degree mark in Chanakyapuri locality.
The heatwave is likely to persist until June 2, the weather department said. It is likely to continue till easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal reach Delhi via Uttar Pradesh, bringing dust storms and thunderstorms.
It was also the warmest day of the season in Himachal Pradesh. The temperature in the state’s Una district touched 44.7 degrees Celsius.
Manmohan Singh, the director of the Shimla meteorological centre, told PTI: “We consider the three months March, April and May as summer season and May 31 has been recorded as the warmest day in the hill state.” He added that any respite from the heatwave is unlikely in the next few days.
In Jammu, the mercury touched 44 degrees C, making it the season’s hottest day.
A heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature recorded at a weather station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius or more in the plains, 37 degrees Celsius or more in coastal stations and at least 30 degrees Celsius in hilly regions.
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