New Delhi: Delhi is reeling under a punishing heatwave which pushed the temperature as high as 46.2 degrees Celsius in some parts of the city today. The weather office has, however, also predicted relief from the heatwave soon.
Najafgarh and Sports Complex stations of the capital city saw the mercury surpassing the 46 degrees mark.
"We have issued a heatwave alert for today for south Haryana, Delhi, south UP, north MP, Jharkhand, Bihar and Bengal. Tomorrow, heatwave alert is not given for any place other than Jharkhand," said an India Meteorological Department scientist earlier today.
The IMD said a western disturbance active over the western Himalayan region will bring rain, hailstorm and gusty winds in the northwestern plains starting Wednesday. As a result, the maximum temperature will drop to 36 degrees Celsius by Thursday, it said.
On Sunday, four stations in the national capital reported a maximum temperature of 45 degrees Celsius.
A heatwave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season in the North-Western parts of India, according to National Disaster Management Authority.
Heatwaves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July. As of now, schools have been closed in Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal due to heat wave conditions. In northern states, the temperature is soaring but there is respite due to Western disturbances from time to time. Heat waves affect the Northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan generally in the month of May and June.