For the fourth consecutive day, the maximum temperature in the city remained three degrees above normal. At 43.4 degrees Celsius, the scorching heat also led the peak power demand to surge to 5,442 MW, the highest so far this year.
Delhiites in several areas across the city got no respite from the heat as they complained of power cuts ranging from one to five hours.
At Palam, the maximum temperature was recorded at 45.2 degrees. The intense heat led to a dust storm in the evening at Indira Gandhi International Airport here. This delayed least 20 flights, mainly arrivals, by half-an-hour to one hour. Ten flights had to be diverted.
R.K. Jenamani, the director in-charge, IGI Airport Meteorological Department unit, said: “Due to such high heating and convection, its impact resulted in dust storms hitting the airport on Monday.”
The dust storm hit the airport between 7.20 p.m. and 7.45 p.m. with a wind speed of 55 km per hour from the western side. “Due to the dust storm, visibility at the airport was reduced from six km to as low as 900 metres. This also resulted in the temperature dropping from 43 degrees Celsius to 37 degrees Celsius during this period,” he added.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 26.4 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year, while the humidity level oscillated between 60 per cent and 16 per cent.
The weatherman has forecast clear skies for Tuesday with haze likely to occur in the morning and evening. The maximum and minimum are likely to hover around 43 degrees and 26 degrees.
Maximum temperature was three degrees above normal for the 4th consecutive day
