Met office calls heat wave in north, central, coastal India as Mocha intensifies

Delhi on Saturday recorded a minimum temperature of 22 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal for the period, the India Meteorological Department said.

The weather office has predicted a heat wave during the day and a maximum temperature of around 43 degrees Celsius.

The relative humidity was recorded at 57 per cent at 8.30 am.

Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded in the 'poor' category with a reading of 219 around 8 am, Central Pollution Control Board data showed.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

Different parts of city recorded high temperatures on Friday including 44.1 degrees Celsius in southwest Delhi’s Najafgarh, where an automatic weather station is located. Similarly, Northwest Delhi’s Pitampura, and the CWG Sports Complex near Akshardham where automatic weather stations are situated, recorded higher maximum temperatures than Safdarjung – 43.7 degrees Celsius, as per media reports.

Over the weekend, the IMD forecast said that Delhi is likely to see dust storms or thunderstorms towards the evening or night. The maximum temperature is likely to be around 42 degrees Celsius on Sunday and Monday, going by the forecast. The minimum temperature is set to range from 20 to 24 degrees Celsius over the next six days.

Meanwhile, IMD on Friday noted that heatwaves are set to increase in several parts of India over the next two days. The mercury will likely go up to 45 degrees Celsius in parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and central India. The Met also issued a similar heat wave warning for southern districts of Bengal including Kolkata.

As per the recent warnings by IMD, heat wave is likely to occur in Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra on 12 May, Gujarat and West Rajasthan on 12 and 13 May, West Madhya Pradesh during 12-14 May, Vidarbha on 13 and 14 May, Bihar, Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal on 15 and16 May, and Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam from 14-16 May.