In Delhi, Ghaziabad & Haryana, schools extend summer break as heat wave makes comeback

India Meteorological Department officials said Delhi is expected to see high temperatures, qualifying as a heat wave, over the next two days. A heat wave is declared when temperature is consistently 5 degrees above normal.

On Sunday, the maximum was recorded at 42.2 degrees Celsius and is expected to be 42 degrees on Monday and Tuesday. The normal temperature at this time of the month is 37 degrees Celsius. Palam recorded a maximum temperature of 44.3 degrees Celsius.

Monsoon, which usually hits Delhi on June 29, has also been delayed this year. IMD officials said monsoon winds will continue to pass through parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, UP and Uttarakhand on Monday. “The low pressure area over northeast Bay of Bengal is also moving westward, which means monsoon will cover parts of Central India, West India and some parts of east Rajasthan on Monday and Tuesday,” an IMD official said.

As per the official forecast, the whole of the coming week will see the likelihood of light rain or drizzle, but it will not affect the soaring temperatures much, especially on Monday and Tuesday.

An official statement issued by IMD said between July 2 and 4, conditions will become favourable for the advance of monsoons into the remaining parts of UP, Uttarakhand, and parts of Himachal Pradesh as well as the NCR.

Delhi is reeling under a significant rain deficit. While it gets 62.1 mm of rain between June 1 and June 30, it has received only 6.6 mm — a deficit of 89%.

Nationally, all states and union territories have received largely deficient rainfall since June 1. The national rain deficit is 33%.