Amid sizzling India and no rain, why Delhi is still not feeling the heatwave? Here's why

Delhi, known for its scorching summers, has surprisingly remained below 40 degrees Celsius, except for one day, despite severe heatwave conditions gripping parts of the country. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) noted that strong winds and cloudy skies due to five western disturbances in April have kept the temperature in check.

Meteorologists attribute the absence of extreme heatwaves in Delhi to these weather patterns, which have prevailed since the third week of April. Kuldeep Srivastava, a scientist at the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, IMD, explained, "April this year saw five western disturbances. No significant amount of rainfall was recorded due to these western disturbances, but there was cloudiness and strong winds on many days, which prevented a rise in temperature."

In contrast, previous years have seen varying degrees of heatwave intensity in Delhi. Last year, no heatwave was recorded at Safdarjung, the city's base station, while parts of Delhi experienced heatwave conditions for three to five days. In 2022, Delhi witnessed the longest streak of heatwaves, with nine days in April and four in May at Safdarjung. However, 2021 was an anomaly, with only one heatwave each in March and June and none in April and May, according to IMD data.

The IMD's forecast indicates that Delhi is unlikely to experience a heatwave in the next seven days. However, the met department has predicted severe heatwave to heatwave conditions in parts over Gangetic West Bengal, east Bihar, east Jharkhand, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat Region, Konkan & Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal, south Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, Telangana and interior Karnataka in the next two days.

IMD defines a heatwave day when the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees Celsius or more above normal, with the maximum temperature reaching at least 40 degrees Celsius. A "severe" heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature is 6.5 degrees Celsius or more above normal.