Delhi sizzles as mercury hits 42.8°C, hottest April day in 4 years

NEW DELHI: Delhiites reeled under heatwave conditions for the third consecutive day on Saturday as the mercury touched 42.8 degrees Celsius at the city’s base station, Safdarjung — 5 degrees above normal — making it the hottest April day in four years.

The last time the temperature crossed this level in April was on April 30, 2022, when Safdarjung recorded 43.5 degrees Celsius. Heatwave conditions are likely to persist on Sunday and Monday, though the city may see very light rain or drizzle between Monday and Wednesday.

Four stations — Safdarjung, Ridge (44.5 degrees Celsius), Lodhi Road (42.6 degrees Celsius) and Ayanagar (43.2 degrees Celsius) — recorded heatwave conditions on Saturday. This was the first heatwave day at Safdarjung this season, while Ridge and Lodhi Road met the criteria on Friday. India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Saturday marked the third consecutive day of heatwave conditions in the city, though it did not clarify the status for Thursday, when only Ridge met the threshold.

Krishna Mishra, scientist at IMD, said, “This is the third consecutive day of heatwave realisation over Delhi. These conditions are likely to continue till Sunday. With the setting in of lower tropospheric-level easterly winds, maximum temperatures are expected to fall, leading to the abatement of heatwave conditions from April 28.”

The maximum temperature on Sunday is expected to hover between 43 and 45 degrees Celsius. IMD has issued an orange alert for heatwave conditions at isolated places, along with strong surface winds of up to 35 kmph during the day. On Monday, parts of the city may still experience heatwave conditions, though a spell of very light rain is possible in the afternoon. Similar light rain is forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday.

The maximum temperature is expected to dip to around 40-42 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and further to 39-41 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

IMD data shows that the highest April maximum temperatures in recent years were 42.1 degrees Celsius on April 26, 2025; 40.5 degrees Celsius on April 27, 2024; and 40.6 degrees Celsius on April 18, 2023.

While no ‘heatwave day’ was recorded in April 2023 and 2024, three such days were logged in the second week of April 2025. In 2022, Delhi witnessed its most intense April heatwave spell in recent years, with 11 heatwave days.

This season, the second half of March remained relatively cooler due to successive western disturbances that brought light rain and cloud cover. Similar conditions prevailed in the first week of April, keeping day temperatures mostly below normal, with the mercury staying under 30 degrees Celsius on April 7 and 8. After rainfall activity ceased, temperatures began rising from April 9, with Safdarjung crossing the 40-degree mark for the first time this year on April 16. Another spell of rain on April 18, which brought 12 mm of rainfall, provided brief relief, pulling temperatures below 40 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature on Saturday settled at 25.2 degrees Celsius, 3 degrees above normal, and is expected to rise to 25-27 degrees Celsius by Monday.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 243. According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, air quality is likely to remain poor till Monday and may improve to the ‘moderate’ category on Tuesday.
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