It’s getting hotter and there’s no relief. Delhi sizzled on Friday with the Palam observatory recording a maximum of 47.2 degrees Celsius around 4-30 p.m. A foil exposed to direct sunlight on June 6 would have been hot enough to fry an egg.
The maximum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung observatory was only a shade less at 44.7 degrees Celsius and the minimum was 29.4 degrees Celsius. The Safdarjung temperature also aced last year’s maximum June temperature, which was 43.5 degrees Celsius. Meteorological department sources said this trend is expected to continue for around four days and this weekend may be even hotter. The probability of rainfall is negligible.
On Thursday, Delhi broke another record. The Capital’s highest power consumption ever was recorded at 1,086.01 lakh killowatt hours.While Delhi’s power production is below optimum after last week’s storm crippled the transmission grid, the demand for power has shot up.
“Before the storm struck, we were generating about 5,000 MW of electricity, which was reduced to 1,000 MW. We are now producing 4,600-4,700MW. Due to rising temperatures, the demand for power has shot up to 6,000 MW,” said Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung. He added that power cuts in the city would continue for three to four days.
While those who stayed indoors turned up their air conditioners and coolers, those on the street flocked at cool drinks stalls and milk booths. The experienced, such as the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary and the paramilitary troops deployed in Lutyens’ Delhi, substituted their hats and berets with cotton turbans and cooled themselves with buttermilk.
