NEW DELHI, May 29 – India’s weather department issued a red alert for several parts of the country’s northwest on Wednesday, warning of a severe heat wave a day after parts of the capital Delhi recorded their highest temperature ever at almost 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).
A red alert implies a “very high likelihood” of people developing “heat illness and heat stroke”, and calls for “extreme care” for vulnerable people, according to the India Meteorological Department.
India has been grappling with unusually high temperatures this summer, and the weather department has said “heat wave to severe heat wave” conditions are likely to continue in several parts, including the capital, through Wednesday.
India declares a heat wave when the maximum temperature of a region is 4.5 C to 6.4 C higher than usual, while a severe heat wave is declared when the maximum temperature is 6.5 C higher than normal or more.
Local weather stations in Delhi’s Mungeshpur and Narela neighbourhoods recorded a temperature of 49.9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday – an all time record for the city and 9 C above normal.
Delhi’s local government also restricted the supply of water because of the heat. It said water levels in the Yamuna River, the main source, were low.
