Showers, thunder end hot day in Delhi; no heatwave predicted

NEW DELHI: A heatwave seared Delhi on Friday before thundershowers and gusty winds brought some respite towards the evening.

Delhi's primary weather station, Safdarjung Observatory, recorded a maximum temperature of 44.4 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal.

It had logged a high of 45.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the highest so far this year.

The mercury jumped to 47.5 degrees Celsius at Najafgarh in southwest Delhi and 47.1 degrees Celsius at Mungeshpur in the northwestern parts of the city. The weather stations at Pitampura, Sports Complex, Jafarpur, Ridge and Palam saw the mercury leaping to 47 degrees Celsius, 46.2 degrees Celsius, 46.1 degrees Celsius, 46 degrees Celsius, 45.7 degrees Celsius and 45.1 degrees Celsius respectively.

A partly cloudy sky, a drizzle and hail brought temporary relief to some parts of the city in the evening.

A cyclonic circulation persisting over Punjab and Haryana will lead to intermittent thundershowers on Saturday, weather forecasters said.

A fresh western disturbance will lead to rain and thunderstorms in northwest India starting Sunday. As a result, the maximum temperature in Delhi will drop to 37 degrees Celsius by Tuesday.

''Back-to-back western disturbances will continue to give intermittent respite from the heat. No heatwave is likely for a week,'' said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency.

On Sunday, Delhi saw a tormenting heatwave pushing the mercury to 49.2 degrees Celsius at Mungeshpur and 49.1 degrees Celsius at Najafgarh.