Delhi witnesses light rainfall, breeze brings brief relief amid continuing heatwave conditions

New Delhi : After days of scorching heat, parts of Delhi experienced a brief change in weather on Saturday morning, with grey clouds covering the sky and a light breeze bringing some relief to residents.
The temperature in the national capital dipped to 29.6°C from 33°C, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), offering short-term respite from the prevailing heatwave conditions.
Earlier on Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) updated that heat wave conditions are very likely to occur during the next 6 days, as per IMD’s Daily Weather Report and Forecast Bulletin.
Heat waves are a period of unusually high temperatures compared to what is normally expected over a region. Several states are gripped by the extreme heat with temperatures over 40°C, according to IMD.
“Heat wave to severe heat wave conditions prevailed in a few pockets over East Uttar Pradesh & Vidarbha; Heat wave conditions in many pockets of Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi and Himachal Pradesh; in some pockets of East Madhya Pradesh; in isolated pockets of Uttarakhand, Odisha, Punjab, West Uttar Pradesh & Coastal Andhra Pradesh,” said IMD.
In response to the rising temperatures, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced on the social media platform X that the timing of all government offices and public and private schools across the state would be revised. Starting Monday, May 25, institutions will operate from 7:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
In the national capital, a formal heatwave condition was established at the Ridge station on Friday, where the maximum temperature hit a blistering 45.3°C. Meanwhile, Lodhi Road registered a 44.3°C. Other major tracking stations recorded similarly oppressive conditions, with Ayanagar at 44.5°C, Palam at 44.3°C, and Safdarjung at 43.6°C.
IMD has also issued a warning for East Uttar Pradesh, stating that severe heatwave conditions are likely to continue until May 28.
To categorise the ongoing threat, the India Meteorological Department has maintained an extensive multi-tiered alert system across the country.
An ‘Orange’ alert remains active for Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and coastal Andhra Pradesh, signalling that authorities must maintain a high state of readiness.
Simultaneously, a severe ‘Red’ alert has been designated for the southern districts of Uttar Pradesh, the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, and north coastal Andhra Pradesh.IMD scientist Naresh Kumar confirmed that these intense heatwave conditions across northwest, central, and parts of eastern India are statistically projected to persist for at least the next 5 to 7 days.
“Heatwave conditions across north-west India, central India and east India will continue for the next 5-7 days. J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are expected to see light rainfall in the next 3-4 days due to a western disturbance developing in the western Himalayas. Delhi-NCR will see temperatures in the range of 44-46 degrees Celsius for the next 6-7 days,” he said.
As the heat continues to run at maximum capacity, the civil population has widely adapted to defensive measures. Across major urban sectors, citizens moving outdoors are uniformly using umbrellas, wide-brimmed hats, and fabric scarves to shield their skin from direct solar radiation.