Heatwave Persist in Delhi – Monsoon Nowhere in Sight for One More Week

The uncomfortable heatwave persists in Delhi as the hot westerly winds from central Pakistan blowing over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, North Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Northwest Madhya Pradesh.

Usually, these conditions prevail during May and the first half of June before the monsoon arrives, causing temperatures to fall marginally and heatwave conditions to dissipate.

On Thursday – July 1st, the Sufdarjug observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 43.6 degrees Celsius that was the hottest day in 90 years.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president, climate change and meteorology at Skymet Weather said that “These are Loo winds which are commonly experienced in May and early June. It’s very unusual to record Loo winds in July or the fag end of June. The wind speed at Palam in Delhi is around 40 to 45 kmph. Till Tuesday the winds were easterly at the lower level and westerly at the higher level so it was a mix of humid and dry winds, making conditions extremely uncomfortable. The temperature is also very high.”

The monsoon is nowhere in sight for at least till 7th July over parts of Northwest India. The Capital is experiencing heatwave conditions, and the Loo is here. “These are winds associated with the heatwave. They are hot dry winds blowing from Pakistan. We cannot say they are unlikely in June because heatwaves are recorded in early and mid-June,” said M Mohapatra, director general, India Meteorological Department (IMD).

K Sathi Devi, head of, national weather forecasting center IMD, explained that “The pressure gradient is very high so strong westerly winds are blowing. Easterly winds did not set in because the monsoon weakened and did not cover the northwestern region entirely. We are not expecting the monsoon to progress for at least a week,”