Delhi witnesses hottest day of the year, monsoon unlikely for national capital, adjoining areas till July 7

The IMD officials said that the maximum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung Observatory was seven notches above normal on Wednesday. A respite from the heat is unlikely as the weather department has predicted another heatwave for Thursday.

New Delhi: With mercury settling at 43.5 degrees Celsius, a severe heatwave swept Delhi on Wednesday (June 30, 2021). The India Meteorological Department (IMD) revealed that yesterday the national capital recorded the highest temperature so far this year. The Met department also added that monsoon is unlikely to progress over the rest of northwest India till July 7. A respite from the heat is unlikely as the weather department has predicted another heatwave for Thursday (July 1, 2021).

The IMD officials said that the maximum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung Observatory was seven notches above normal on Wednesday. Other monitoring stations in the Capital, including Lodhi Road (43.7 degrees Celsius), Ayanagar (44.2), Ridge (44), Mungeshpur (44.3), Najafgarh (44.4), Pitampura (44.3) and Narela (43.7), also recorded a severe heatwave, the officials said.

The monitoring station at Pusa recorded a high of 44.3 degrees Celsius, eight notches above normal, they added.

The national capital had recorded the first heatwave of the season on Monday with the mercury settling at 43 degrees Celsius.

"Usually, the capital witnesses heatwaves till June 20 and cooler temperatures thereafter. The increase in the maximum temperature this time can be attributed to the delay in the arrival of the monsoon," said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre.

There has been no rainfall in the last few days and warm westerly winds are blowing across a major part of northwest India, which has not been covered by the monsoon yet, he said.

Additionally, a thin layer of dust hovered over the national capital pushing the air quality into the poor zone.

According to IMD, conditions are predicted to become favourable for the advancement of monsoon into the region by July 7. The weather department has also predicted light rainfall and dust storm on Friday. 

After arriving two days late in Kerala, the monsoon raced across the country, covering eastern, central and adjoining northwest India seven to 10 days ahead of schedule.

The meteorological office had earlier predicted that the wind system may reach Delhi by June 15, which would have been 12 days early.

However, westerly winds have been blocking its advancement into Delhi, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.

Normally, the monsoon reaches Delhi by June 27 and covers the entire country by July 8. Last year, the wind system had reached Delhi on June 25 and covered the entire country by June 29.

The wind system is not likely to cover the remaining part of northwest India, including Delhi, Haryana, parts of west Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and west Rajasthan in the next six to seven days, the IMD said. The last time the monsoon arrived so late in Delhi was on July 7 in 2012.

(With PTI inputs)