Heatwave in Delhi: Akshardham hottest at 44°C, more misery is in store in coming days, says IMD

New Delhi: The city witnessed the hottest day of the year even as the weather department expects warmer days ahead. Meanwhile, city’s air quality also deteriorated within poor level and several areas reeled under a very poor air quality.
The maximum temperature was 41.1 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal and highest of the year, against 40.3 degrees Celsius a day earlier.Earlier, the maximum temperature had reached 40.5 degrees Celsius on April 26, now the second highest.
At 44 degrees Celsius, Sports Complex at Akshardham was the hottest area of the city, followed by Pitampura at 43.4 degrees Celsius and Najafgarh 43.2 degrees Celsius.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects the maximum temperature to increase to 42 degrees Celsius within next two days.
The minimum temperature was 22.7 degree Celsius, two notches below normal, against 23.2 degrees Celsius a day earlier.
“The day temperatures are likely to rise further due to clear skies and no winds. There are chances of drizzling later this week, but that would not impact the maximum temperature much,” said an IMD official.
The maximum and minimum temperature on Monday are likely to hover around 41 and 24 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Meanwhile, city’s air quality continued to be poor, with several areas like Anand Vihar, Jahangirpuri, Dwarka and Mundka suffering very poor air quality primarily due to dust-raising winds. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the prominent pollutant is PM10.
The air quality index, on a scale of 0 to 500, was 291 against 281 a day earlier, both poor. According to CPCB, by 5pm, the air quality at Anand Vihar was 378, Jahangirpuri 369, Mundka 361, Patparganj 350, Rohini 369, Shadipur 366 among several other places where air quality had been deteriorating.
“The air quality is likely to be in poor category from May 6 to May 8. The outlook for subsequent 6 days: The air quality is likely to be in poor to moderate category…The predominant surface wind is likely to be coming from northwest directions in Delhi with wind speed 10-20 kmph and mainly clear sky on May 6,” stated the forecast from early warning system.