Delhi weather hits 52.3°C for the first time ever amid 'severe heat wave' conditions: IMD

Temperatures in India's capital reached an all-time high of 52.3 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, according to the government's weather bureau.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), reporting "severe heat-wave conditions," recorded the temperature in Delhi's suburb of Mungeshpur on Wednesday afternoon, surpassing the 50C mark for the first time in the city's history.

Earlier on, the IMD had issued a red alert for many parts of India's northwestern regions and warned of a severe heat wave day.


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A red alert implies a "very high likelihood" of people developing "heat illness and heat stroke", and calls for "extreme care" for vulnerable people, according to the India Meteorological Department.

India declares a heat wave when the maximum temperature of a region is 4.5 C to 6.4 C higher than usual, while a severe heat wave is declared when the maximum temperature is 6.5 C higher than normal or more.

Local weather stations in Delhi's Mungeshpur and Narela neighbourhoods recorded a temperature of 49.9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday - an all time record for the city and 9 C above normal.