City dwellers had to sweat it out on Saturday with the mercury shooting up to 44.5 degree Celsius — the highest in the season so far, even as Palam area touched a blistering 46 degrees Celsius.
As the heat wave continued to sweep the Capital, the maximum temperature was recorded five notches above normal at 44.5 degrees at the Safdarjung observatory, which is the official reading for the city.
However, the mercury at Palam weather station settled at 46.2 degrees Celsius, said the Meteorological Department officials. The minimum temperature settled at 29.3 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season’s average, said Meteorological Department officials.
Adding to the woes of residents were power cuts for four to five hours.
The peak power demand of the city also shot up to 5,069 MW, while interruptions in power supply were reported in areas like Rohini, Dwarka, Mayur Vihar Phases II and III, Patel Nagar, Karkardooma, Jungpura, Ghaziabad and Noida.
Thunderstorms or dust storms have been forecast for Sunday, which may bring some relief to Delhiities.
“Sunday will mainly have a clear sky, which will turn partly cloudy toward the afternoon or evening. Dust storm and thunderstorm could occur in some parts of the city,” the forecast said. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 45 and 29 degrees, respectively.
On Friday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 43.6 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 27 degrees Celsius. The power demand too shot up to 5,127 MW on Friday.
