June 10, 2007
No Respite from Heat Wave
Across North India
New Delhi
The heat wave across north India Sunday showed no signs of relenting
as the maximum temperatures in many places continued to hover around
the 45-degee Celsius mark.
In the national capital, the maximum temperature was at 44 degrees
Celsius, a marginal drop from 44.9 degrees recorded Saturday - the
highest this year so far.
"The maximum temperature recorded today is 44 degrees Celsius which
is four degrees above normal. The minimum is 34 degrees which is
five degrees above normal," said an official of the Indian
Meteorological Department (IMD).
However, Delhiites saw no relief in the statistics.
"Is the temperature actually lower than yesterday? It was as
terrible as yesterday, if not more. The heat wave and then humidity
simply adds to our woes," said an exasperated Tanuja Roy.
"Humidity is even more irritating. Delhi's summers are hot but
generally not humid. But this time it has crossed all barriers,"
said Arihant Misra, a student.
There was some good news for them. "There might be a dust storm
later in the night or tomorrow morning bringing down the temperature
slightly and offering respite from the prevailing heat wave," the
IMD official said.
Said Ananya Sharma: "Monsoons have arrived in so many parts of
India. Today I was watching the rain bringing respite to people in
Bihar on the TV. For us, even if its not the rain lets hope at least
the dust storm brings some relief!"
It was weekend but the Delhi roads couldn't have worn a more
deserted look. The scorching heat seemed to be testing people's
tolerance levels.
The desert state of Rajasthan had no relief from intense summer heat
as the mercury in several places went further up a day after the
desert state recorded its highest temperatures in 12 years.
Jaipur was blazing at 45.2 degree Celsius, 0.3 degrees more than the
maximum temperature recorded Saturday. Bikaner was sizzling at 44.4
degrees, while Ajmer recorded a maximum temperature of 42.1 degrees.
Jodhpur at 40.8 degrees and Dabok near Udaipur at 39 degrees were
somewhat lucky.
On Saturday, Sriganganagar recorded a blistering 48.9 degrees
Celsius while in the rest of the state temperatures ranged between
42-49 degrees.
The figures were comparable to historic records. On May 9, 1995 the
mercury touched 49.9 degrees Celsius in Barmer, while Alwar had
recorded a maximum of 50.6 degrees on May 10, 1956.
The unusual heat wave forced people to remain indoors and roads wore
a deserted look in cities.
The met office in Jaipur said there would be no change in
temperatures in the next 48 hours.
"The maximum temperatures are likely to remain between 40-46 degrees
in Rajasthan," a met official said.
"This scorching heat has changed my routine completely. I am a
direct marketing agent and with the sun blazing I start my days
early in the morning, work for a couple of hours and do the rest of
my work after the sunset," said Siddarth Singh, a Jaipur-based
professional.
In Punjab and Haryana, there were no signs of a let-up in the heat
wave. The death toll in the two states went up to four with a young
baker succumbing to the heat wave in Moga town of Punjab near
Ludhiana.
High temperatures continued to prevail in Nagpur and most other
parts of the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra Sunday even as people
awaited the arrival of monsoon three days after the date it normally
sets in.
The city recorded a maximum temperature of 42.0 degrees Celsius and
a minimum of 25.8 degrees Saturday, the met office here said. There
will be little change in the day and night temperatures Monday, the
weatherman said.
In Madhya Pradesh, Hariom Narayan Vyas, a teacher, died in Bhind
district Saturday when the neighbouring Gwalior district recorded
45.8 degrees Celsius, the hottest day this summer in the state.
The heat wave was likely to continue for three-four days, a met
official in Bhopal said.
"The state will have to wait for at least five days before the
monsoon arrives," said S.K. Dubey, director of the Madhya Pradesh
met department.
Many places in Chhattisgarh saw the mercury going above the
43-degree mark even as the weatherman predicted the state will
continue to wilt under the heat wave for the next 48 hours.
"The present spell of heat wave, which has swept the entire state,
mainly the northern region including steel city Raigarh and power
city Korba, will continue for the next 48 hours as monsoon is likely
to hit the state not before June 12," M.L. Sahu of the Raipur-based
met office, said Sunday.
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