Temperatures in India hover at record highs as heatwave grips the country

A record heat wave has engulfed India’s capital city Delhi and areas in the country’s northwestern and central regions, with temperatures near all-time highs throughout the week.

Temperatures have hovered near 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in Delhi, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. Some local weather stations reported highs of 49.9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, above Delhi’s previous record temperature of 49.2 degrees, which was logged in May 2022.

A further all-time high of 52.9 degrees was recorded on Wednesday — however, the Indian Meteorological Department said this reading was an outlier and could be due to a sensor error and was being investigated.

Other weather stations in Delhi measured temperatures on Wednesday ranging from 45.2 to 49.1 degrees Celsius. The area of Narela cooled by as many as 1.5 degrees from Tuesday, while temperatures in many other sites rose further.

Earlier this week, India recorded its first heat-related death of the year, Reuters reported citing local media, adding that the man in question was a laborer who died from heatstroke.

State media on Wednesday reported that local authorities in Delhi ordered that construction workers must be put on leave during afternoon hours. Drinking water should be available at bus stops, and roads should be cooled with sprinklers, officials added.

Residents have been desperately trying to take shelter from the heat and get some relief. Power demand in Delhi hit an all-time high, state media reported, and pictures show workers handling ice blocks and locals trying to get access to water.

Authorities have restricted water access, saying certain parts of Delhi would only receive water one a day rather than twice, as supply is running low. The rationing aims to allow for the redirection of resources to areas that have had little to no access to water, senior minister Atishi Marlena Singh said earlier in the week, according to state media.

The heat wave and a lack of usual water deliveries from Northern Indian state Haryana to Delhi were to blame for the capital city’s supply shortage, Singh added.

Teams set up by the local Delhi government would on Thursday start monitoring water wastage and fine those who broke current rules, state media reported.

Temperatures are set to ease in the coming days, the Indian Meteorological Department said Wednesday.

“It has rained at many places in Delhi in the afternoon resulting in further fall of temperature. Heat wave conditions will reduce during next 2-3 days due to gradual fall in temperature in association with approaching western disturbance, rainfall/thunderstorm and southwesterly wind blowing from Arabian Sea to northwest India,” it said.