The temperature reading collected in Delhi, India’s capital, may have broken national records as the country faces a severe heatwave. The reading – 52.9 degrees Celsius or 126.1 degrees Fahrenheit – was preliminary and technically odd compared to other readings taken in Delhi on the same day. Officials said. But if this result is confirmed, it will be the highest temperature ever recorded anywhere in India.
The temperature reading came from a substation in Mungeshpur, a district of Delhi. Located in the northwest, India’s capital region – which includes its capital, New Delhi – is home to nearly 30 million people and covers about 600 square miles of land. The India Meteorological Department said in a press release that the reading from Mungeshpur could be due to a sensor problem or other error, and that it would check the data and sensors. In Delhi, substations at various locations generally recorded temperatures between 45.2 degrees and 49.1 degrees Celsius, which is roughly equivalent to 113 degrees and 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Amid the heatwave, people in Delhi as well as the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have been advised to avoid exposure to heat under the ‘red’ weather warning issued by the India Meteorological Department on Tuesday and Wednesday. the red alertDefining “heatwave to extreme heatwave” conditions, it urged people to keep as cool as possible and stay hydrated, as at least three weather-related deaths have been reported so far, according to Reuters. BBCCBS News partner.
The India Meteorological Department issues red alerts for “extreme heat” when an intense heatwave lasts for more than two days. Alerts advise people to do so “take action” They warn of a “very high risk of heat illness and heat stroke” among people of all ages, while also calling for “extreme care” for vulnerable populations. A ministry spokesman said in the latest Daily weather forecast On Wednesday, extreme heat persisted across the north but is expected to subside from Thursday.
Amit Dave/Reuters
Temperatures rose outside Delhi too. Tuesday The temperature was 50.5 degrees Celsius, or approximately 123 degrees Fahrenheit, in the area around one substation in Rajasthan, a desert state that has in the past recorded some of the highest temperature readings ever in India, according to the India Meteorological Department. Another substation in the city of Sirsa, farther north, reached a similar reading on Tuesday, at 50.3 degrees Celsius, or about 122.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heatwaves are more common in India during this time of the year, according to the Meteorological Department, which says they tend to occur between March and June, with peak heat in May. But the heat waves the region has witnessed have been particularly treacherous recently. in April, Hundreds of people died across Asia As a result of the extreme rise in temperatures in India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Gaza and other places. In India, this heat wave has pushed temperatures to triple digits in a number of areas, including the eastern city of Bhagura, where temperatures have risen. It got close to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather damaged crops and forced schools to close prematurely, weeks before the planned summer vacation.
a Study on severe weather Climate change has amplified what may already be a powerful heatwave to make it particularly severe, the World Weather Attribution issued earlier this month said. Around that time, Raghu Murtugudi, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, told CBS News that El Niño may have played a role as well.
“I think it’s a combination of El Niño, global warming and seasonality,” Murtogodi said. “The El Niño phenomenon turns into the La Niña phenomenon. This is the time when the maximum temperature rise towards the Indian Ocean occurs. So, all of these things basically add steroids to the weather.”
Arshad R. contributed. Zargar and Lee Cohen reporting.
