Delhi Scorches at Record 49.9°C Amid Westerly Winds and Heatwave, IMD Issues Red Alert

Owing to westerly winds from Rajasthan and other conducive weather conditions, Delhi witnessed record-high temperatures at 49.9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. The IMD has issued a red alert on Wednesday warning for severe heatwave and an orange alert on Thursday. On the other hand, the Met Department has also predicted that Delhi is likely to receive light rain on Friday-Saturday. 

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The weather conditions are worsened by cloudless skies, extreme heat, and reduced humidity. Safdarjang, Delhi's base observatory's maximum temperature reached 45.8 degrees. The mercury shot to 49.9 degrees Celsius in Narela and Mungeshwar. Najafgarh recorded 49.9 degree Celsius temperature. Pusa, Jafarpur, and Pitampura also experienced heatwaves on Tuesday. As for other parts in the region, mercury shot up in Gurgaon and Noida at 47 and 47.3 degrees respectively. A forest fire was reported in the Aravali mountains near Surajkund in Faridabad which burnt several acres and trees. 

The rising temperatures, along with the poor air quality have made things difficult for Delhi citizens. On Tuesday, when the city was just shy of 50 degrees Celsius, the air quality index was 244. 

On the same day, Rajasthan's Churu was recorded as the hottest place in India at 50,5 degrees. In 2016, Phalodi from the same state reached a record of 51 degrees Celsius.