Delhi records warmest night in May in 14 years, orange alert for heatwave

Delhi recorded its warmest night in the month of May in nearly 14 years as the minimum temperature settled at 31.9 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the weather office said.

The last time the minimum temperature was higher than this was on May 26, 2012, when the minimum temperature settled at 32.5 degrees Celsius.

Safdarjung and Lodi Road were among the stations that recorded warm night conditions, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

A warm night is declared when the maximum temperature remains 40 degrees Celsius or more and the minimum temperature departure is between 4.5 degrees Celsius and 6.4 degrees Celsius above normal, according to the IMD.

Among the weather stations, Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 31.9 degrees Celsius, 5.2 notches above the season’s normal, followed by Ridge at 30.6 degrees Celsius, 4.4 notches above normal.

Palam stood at 30.5 degrees Celsius, 3.4 notches above normal, Lodi Road at 29.6 degrees Celsius, 4.6 notches above normal, and Ayanagar at 27.4 degrees Celsius, 0.7 notch above normal.

The city has been placed under an orange alert as the maximum temperature is expected to touch 46 degrees Celsius, with the IMD forecasting heatwave conditions during the day.

The air quality was recorded in the ‘moderate’ category at 9 am on Thursday, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 153, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.

According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.