Mercury soars in capital; heatwave and thunderstorm alert issued

NEW DELHI: Delhi-ncr is likely to witness "thundery developments" in the later part of Wednesday. The maximum temperature was expected to hover around 44 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season's average. A high alert has been issued for a heat wave in Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi-ncr. It was a sunny morning on Wednesday with the minimum temperature at 26.7 degree Celsius, which is also the season's average.

"The sky will remain partly cloudy, and there are chances of rainfall and thunderstorm by evening or late night," a MET department official told news agency. Humidity was recorded at 44 percent at 8.30am.

On Tuesday, Delhi recorded its hottest day of the season with mercury soaring to 46 degrees Celsius in some parts of the city. The minimum temperature for yesterday was 26.2 degrees Celsius.

The Indian Meteorological Department had predicted a rise in temperature from Monday this week.

A moderate heat wave alert has also been issued for East Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Gujarat region, Saurashtra & Kutch, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

A string of thunderstorms and dust storms have hit Delhi as well as North India in the past month that has left many dead and injured.

In the dust storm that hit Delhi two weeks ago, two people were killed, and over 15 were injured. Over 70 flights were also disrupted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.