Mercury dips slightly day after Delhi crosses 49 degrees, thunderstorm in forecast today

Already this year, India has recorded its warmest March since 1901. (Image: AP)

A day after mercury soared above 49 degrees in Delhi, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted a thunderstorm or dust storm in the national capital today.

The weather office said under the influence of a western disturbance, dust storm and thunderstorm were expected over the northern parts of Punjab and Haryana on Monday, while a mild dust storm was likely over the remaining parts of Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh and at isolated pockets of Delhi NCR.

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After the intense heatwave scorched parts of north India on May 15 with places in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh recording 49 degrees Celsius and above, the thunderstorm could bring down the mercury by a few notches, providing temporary relief from the sweltering heat.

On May 15, the Safdarjung observatory recorded 45.6 degrees Celsius, while two weather stations at Mungeshpur in northwest Delhi and Najafgarh in southwest Delhi reported 49.2 and 49.1 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The temperature at Safdarjung was the highest this season. Banda district in Uttar Pradesh's Bundelkhand region recorded the maximum day temperature of 49 degrees Celsius, the highest in the state.

As per data by the weather office, this was the highest-ever temperature recorded in Banda in May. The previous maximum temperature in the district was 48.8 degrees Celsius on May 31, 1994.

Churu and Pilani in Rajasthan reported maximum temperatures of 47.9 and 47.7 degrees Celsius, respectively, followed by Sri Ganganagar and Jhansi (47.6), Narnaul (47.5), Khajuraho and Nowgong (47.4) and Hissar (47.2), the IMD said.

The weather office said the maximum temperature was markedly above normal (5.1 degrees or more) at several places in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Bihar.

The IMD said the maximum temperatures were appreciably above normal (3.1degrees C to 5 degrees C) at many places in West Uttar Pradesh, East Uttar Pradesh, East Madhya Pradesh.