May weather in India
This is a collection of articles, mainly from the Delhi- based press. |
This page is under construction. Data will continue to be added over the next several years. May
May as a whole
India
The average maximum temperature in May
Neha.Madaan@/ The Times of India
37.4°C May 1988
37.3°C in May 2024
Delhi
2011-19; 1-15 May 2020
Jasjeev Gandhiok, May 16, 2020: The Times of India
Flurry Of Western Disturbances In May Keeps Mercury In Check
May 2020 is already cooler than usual. 2019, temperatures had touched the 44-degree Celsius mark on May 1, however, Delhi did not touch even 41degrees C till 15 May 2020, with only two days recorded so far where the temperature was 40-degrees Celsius or higher.
While one of these days was in April 2020, which overall was nearly 1-degree Celsius cooler than the normal monthly temperature, May till 15 May 2020 has presented a similar story, recording only one day where the temperature was 40-degrees or higher when it touched 40.9 degrees on [9 May]. Monthly data however shows so far the average monthly temperature is 1.5 degrees below normal.
Historical data shows Delhi has touched the 44-degree mark each time since 2011, going as high as 46 degrees in both May 2015 and May 2013. 2020 however seems unlikely this year.
Met officials said that the reason for the low temperature has been a quick succession of western disturbances, not only bringing rain but gusty winds and even hail, like it was witnessed on Thursday in parts of north and west Delhi. Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD, said that May averages around four western disturbances, however, Delhi has already recorded four so far.
“We are halfway through the month and we have already seen four WDs impact the region, leading to a drop in temperature. WDs tend to cause gusty winds, leading to temperature not spiking too much,” said Srivastava.
Delhi has also recorded four ‘rainy’ days in May 2020 .
Temperatures 1-24 May: 2019, 2020
See graphic:
Temperatures in Delhi, 1-24 May: 2019, 2020
Cool Mays
Coldest May days
Delhi
1901-23
Lowest maximum temperature
The coolest day in Delhi in May was in 2010 but the figure is not available
23. 8 degrees C/ 2021 May 19
26. 1 degrees Celsius/ 2023 May 1 (13 degrees Celsius below normal)
29.4 degrees Celsius: 2017, May 23
30.8 degrees Celsius, 2021, May 18: nine degrees below normal, due to the impact of Cyclone Tauktae. The day temperature reported in Delhi on the preceding day had been 37.8 degrees Celsius
Lowest minimum temperatures
15.1 degrees C, May 2, 1969
15.2 degrees C on May 2, 1982
15.8 degrees C, 4 May 2023, at Safdarjung, nine notches below normal
Delhi: Coolest Mays, 1967-2021; Heatwaves, 2011-21
Delhi recorded its coolest May in 13 years in 2021 with both the average maximum and minimum temperatures staying below normal on most of the days of the month.
After a spate of western disturbances and nine rainy days and due to the impact of Cyclone Tauktae and Cyclone Yaas, the monthly average maximum temperature was recorded at 37.5 degrees Celsius in the city.
Before this, it was lower in May 2008 at 37 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature was recorded at 23.2 degrees Celsius, which was lowest since 1967. In May 1982, the mercury had dipped to the same level.’
Though May is known for sweltering conditions, no heat wave was recorded in 2021 May. Four heat waves had swept the city in May 2020. A heat wave is declared when the maximum temperature is 45 degrees Celsius or above or when the maximum temperature is at least 4.5 degrees above normal. The normal temperature around this time of the month is 40.4 degrees Celsius.
The average maximum temperature reported in May 2021 was two degrees below normal. The mean minimum temperature recorded in the same month was 2.6 degrees below normal, according to data of India Meteorological Department (IMD).
IMD data shows that the maximum temperature mostly hovered around 40 to 46 degrees Celsius in the second half of the month in 2020. However, the day temperature remained below the 40-degree mark on most days during the same period in 2021.
Delhi: Coolest Mays, 1901-2023
Priyangi Agarwal, June 1, 2023: The Times of India
New Delhi: Delhi experienced its coolest May in 36 years as the weather remained freakishly wet and pleasant through what is usually the hottest month of the year. At 36. 8 degrees Celsius, the month’s average maximum temperature was 3. 1 degrees below normal, with 11 rainy days keeping temperatures below normal for as many as 22 days.
Only on four years have average maximum temperatures in May been lower in records since 1901. The last such year was 1987, when the mean maximum was 36 degrees C.
Even nights were unusually cool. The mean minimum temperature was recorded at 22. 2 degrees C, 3. 6 notches below normal and the lowest in at least 13 years in readily av- ailable records since 2011.
The month saw 111mm of rain, against the normal of 29. 4mm, making it the fourth wettest May since 1991.
Warm Mays
Highest maximum temperature
Alwar
Neha.Madaan@/ The Times of India
46.5°C On May 31, 2024 reported, its fourth-highest temperature.
Bilaspur
46.8°C on May 31, 2024, its fifth highest May maximum ever,
Bulandshahr
46°C saw, its second-highest May maximum ever.
Dehradun
Kautilya Singh. The Times of India
43.2 degrees 2024 May 31 The hottest May day on record since May 1867
43.1 degrees 2012 May 30 The previous record holder
Other extremely hot days in May in the 21st century
40.7 degrees, 2018 May 26
40.4 degrees 2019 May 31
40.1 degrees 2020 May 27
39.6 degrees 2022 May 15
39.3 degrees 2023 May 22
37.5 degrees 2021 May 25
Delhi
Safdarjung
47.2 degrees Celsius on May 29, 1944.
Palam
48.4 degrees Celsius on May 26, 1998.
Maximum and minimum temperatures in Delhi in May
Normal maximum temperature at Safdarjung in May
39.9 degrees Celsius
Average maximum temperature at Safdarjung in some extreme Mays
41.5 degrees Celsius in May 2013
41.4 degrees Celsius in May 2024
Normal minimum temperature for May
25.8 degrees Celsius
Mean minimum temperature in some extreme Mays
26.8 degrees Celsius May 2016
26.4 degrees Celsius: May 2024 (till May 30)
The May of 2024 (an extreme May)
“The difference between day and night temperatures was only 12-15 degrees Celsius. However, if the variation between day and night temperatures is around 20 degrees Celsius or more, the nights become comfortable,” Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist and head of the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre at IMD, told The Times of India
Minimum temperatures stayed around 29-30 degrees Celsius for seven days
Safdarjung saw five consecutive heatwave days, while some stations in Delhi saw heatwaves for over 10 days.
The maximum temperature was above 40 degrees Celsius continuously since May 14. The day temperature had also surpassed 40 degrees Celsius on many days in the first week of May.
Rainfall
Only ‘trace’ rainfall: May 2013: The driest in the 21st century
0.4 mm in May 2024 :a rain deficit of 99%. It was the second driest in recent decades
1944; 2012-23
See graphic: The Highest maximum temperature in Delhi, 1944; 2012-23
Gurgaon
49 degrees on May 10, 1966
48.1 degrees Celsius May 15, 2022
47.2 degrees Celsius May 28, 1998
Hot Mays
2022
Atul Thakur, June 12, 2022: The Times of India
With the monsoon still stuck in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, central, north and western India are braving a hot summer that started as early as the first week of April. For Delhiites who think they’ve had it particularly bad this year, an analysis of daily maximum temperature data for May for more than a hundred stations located across the country shows that 26 have recorded longer spells of 40-plus temperatures than the national capital. Akola in Maharashtra and Barmer, Jaisalmer and Kota in Rajasthan saw surface temperatures crossing 40 degrees on every day in May. Similarly, 40-plus temperatures were recorded for 30 days in Bikaner (Rajasthan) and 29 days in Churu (Rajasthan), Jhansi (UP) and Ramugundam in Telangana.
The analysis was on data taken from the US government’s National Climate Data Center (NCDC), which is the world’s largest archive of weather data collated from stations across the world. TOIanalysed daily maximum temperature data for May for 101 stations, those for which NCDC has temperature records for at least 29 of the 31 days in May.
There were 14 stations where the maximum temperature crossed 40 degrees on more than 90% of the days in May. These, apart from the stations already mentioned, include Ganganagar, Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Guna and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and Hissar in Haryana. Then there are eight stations where at least 80% of the month’s days saw the temperature crossing 40 degrees. Three of these —Sagar, Bhopal and Satna — are in Madhya Pradesh while Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana each have one such station – Rajkot, Daltonganj, Gondia, Ajmer and Nizamabad, respectively.
The next lot, which also includes the national capital, is the group of stations where the temperature in May crossed 40 degrees for at least 70% of the days. These are Amritsar, Varanasi, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur in Odisha, Bhaunagar (Gujarat) and Safdarjung in Delhi.
The data shows that 33 of the 101 stations saw the temperature cross 40 degrees on at least 50% of days in May. Major cities in this list – other than those aleady mentioned —were Sambalpur in Odisha, Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Deesa in Gujarat.
There are also 40 stations where the maximum temperature never crossed 40 degrees in May. Other than hill stations, this list includes Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Puri, Dwarka and Thiruvananthapuram. Pune, another city known for its moderate weather, saw temperatures going past 40 degrees twice.
Fog in May
Delhi
2023, 3 May Visibility dipped to 100m at Safdarjung around 6am due to excessive moisture in the air after 3 May 2023’s showers, low temperatures and calm winds, the met office said.
Rainfall
Delhi
The norm, the highs
Delhi rainfall already 7x more than May normal | The Times of India
165mm in 2008: the capital’s all-time record for May
144.8mm in 2021, by 30 5 2021, partly an aftermath of cyclone Tauktae
19.7mm: the normal rainfall in Delhi in May
Highest single-day rainfall:
119.3mm: 2021, May 19.
60mm:1976, May ?.
Uttarakhand
1916, 2021
2021 was the wettest May since 1916
Mukteshwar has its wettest May in 105 yrs | Gaurav.Talwar@timesgroup.com The Times of India
Highest rainfall in May
… in Uttarakhand
Normal for May: 5.1 mm rainfall (Must be the normal for one particular area)
Unusual years:
2021 80.7mm rainfall in span of 48-hours (19-21 May) due to the combined impact of western disturbance and Cyclone Tauktae
… in Mukteshwar (Nainital district}
113mm in 2021 on May 20
71.4mm on May10,1916
1st May
2nd May
Delhi/ 13.2mm rain/ 38.3°C falls to 25°C, dust storm: 2018
From The Times of India 3 May 2018
2018 Dust storm, sudden rain bring relief from heat
The capital saw a sudden dust storm followed by heavy rain that brought the mercury down by several notches.
The Safdarjung observatory, considered as the base for weather in the capital, received 13.2mm of rainfall between 5.30pm and 8.30 pm, while several other parts of the capital reported intense showers. Met officials said the rain was caused due to a cyclonic circulation forming over Haryana, which also resulted in the dust storm.
Met officials say the dust storm hit the capital around 4.30 pm, with Safdarjung recording a maximum speed of 59km/hr at 4.45 pm. A drizzle was reported around parts of the capital around 5.30 pm and the intensity increased by 7pm, during which the temperature fell to around 25 degrees, officials said. Operations were also affected at the IGI airport during the time and 15 flights were diverted.
Delhi had also received light rain on Sunday night due to favourable local conditions like high temperature and moisture. The humidity levels on Wednesday, meanwhile, were between 38-66%, met official said.
Earlier in the day, Delhi had recorded a maximum temperature of 38.3 degrees Celsius , while the minimum was 27 degrees Celsius—two notches above normal. The regional met has forecast cloudy skies on Thursday and the maximum likely to be around 36 degrees Celsius. A drizzle may occur in some parts.
Rajasthan to Jharkhand, Telangana: Superstorm kills 129/ 2018
From The Times of India 4 May 2018
Superstorms across India kill 129, shatter homes and lives
Major Damage In UP, Raj; 46 Dead In Agra
Severe thunderstorms lashed many parts of the country on [the night of 2May 2018], killing at least 129 people in the last 24 hours and leaving a trail of destruction, with houses flattened, trees uprooted and electricity poles in disarray. The maximum devastation occurred in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the storms claimed 112 lives.
Uttar Pradesh reported 73 deaths, of which 46 were in Agra district alone. As many as 39 people died in Rajasthan, followed by seven in Telangana, four in Uttarakhand and two each in Jharkhand and Punjab.
The fury of unusually strong winds and heavy rains lasted for up to three hours in many places.
“Concrete houses came down like packs of cards one after the other. Trees, streetlights and whatever stood taller than a few feet were flattened by the winds. We took out victims from debris of houses and ferried them to hospitals on motorcycles,” Narendra Sharma, the SHO of Kheragarh police station in Agra district, told TOI after spending the night in rescue ops.
With 24 deaths, Kheragarh tehsil in Agra near UP Rajasthan border bore the maximum brunt of the storm in the district.
Deaths were reported from other parts of the state too. These included three each in Bijnor and Kanpur Dehat, two each in Saharanpur, Hamirpur, Mirzapur and Kanpur city; and one each in Bareilly, Pilibhit, Chitrakoot, Rae Bareli, Unnao, Mathura, Amroha, Banda, Sitapur, Sambhal, Etawah, Allahabad and Rampur. Nearly 90 people were injured in the state. The UP government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased.
In Rajasthan, home minister Gulab Chand Kataria put the toll at 33 on Thursday, but unofficial sources said it had climbed to 39 by evening. Over 200 people have been injured in the storm which affected Bharatpur, Dholpur and Alwar districts.
After a horrifying night, Thursday morning brought in a host of woes as people woke up to disruption in water and power supply. As many as 12,700 electricity polls were uprooted and 1,523 transformers damaged in the three districts. More than 50,000 trees were destroyed.
The Rajasthan government rushed ministers to the three districts on Thursday while chief minister Vasundhara Raje is scheduled to visit the affected areas of Bharatpur on Friday. “Seventeen persons have died in Bharatpur, nine in Alwar and five in Dholpur district due to the dust storm,” Kataria said.
In Uttarakhand, casualties were reported from Almora, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar districts.
In Telangana, heavy rains triggered by a cyclonic circulation killed seven people across the state. Strong winds plunged many areas in Hyderabad into darkness. Deaths were reported from Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda and Warangal districts.
In Punjab, two people were killed in Patiala city when the boundary wall of an underconstruction house collapsed on them. The victims died on the spot within minutes.
In Jharkhand, two women were killed in Sahibganj district when they were struck by lightning.
Why the storm was so intense
From The Times of India 4 May 2018
‘Perfect conditions’ gave deadly edge to storms: Met
More Intense Than IMD Had Predicted
Amit.Bhattacharya@timesgroup.com
Multiple factors lined up perfectly to cause the widespread thunderstorms and dust storms that claimed more than 110 lives across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand on Wednesday, Met officials said. At several places, the storms were more intense than predicted.
While squalls and dust storms are a common April-May phenomenon in north India as a result of high heat, what gave Wednesday’s storms more destructive power was their association with a western disturbance (WD), Met officials said.
“The thunderstorms coincided with a passing WD which provided moisture and unstable conditions, leading to storms across a wide area,” said K G Ramesh, director general of India Meteorological Department. The department had issued alerts for “isolated heavy thunderstorms” in the region with wind speeds of 40-50kmph. But winds reportedly reached higher speeds at several places.
“This can happen due to local gustiness within the zone of precipitation. These are accentuated by land features which enable winds to reach higher speeds due to tunnelling effect. Generally, the winds were within the range we had forecast” Ramesh said.
“Four weather conditions need to come together for thunder squalls to take place. One, there should be adequate heating of the land; two, there must be moisture in the air; three, the atmosphere should be unstable and, four, there must be a triggering mechanism,” said M Mohapatra, DGM, IMD.
All these conditions were met on Wednesday, Mohapatra said. “Surface temperatures were high and moist easterly winds were blowing up to Himachal Pradesh. The atmosphere was unstable and a cyclonic circulation over Haryana and its neighbourhood provided the trigger for the storms,” he said.
2018 storms were the most lethal since 2013
Winds Hit 126kmph In Agra
The severe thunderstorms that hit north India and some other regions last Wednesday (May 2) unleashed the most devastation by any single-day storm event in the country in the past six years, for which data was compiled by the India Meteorological Department.
TOI had reported 129 deaths in the storms in north India, Jharkhand and Telangana on May 2. That’s nearly double the toll from the previous worst thunderstorm event since 2013, in which 65 people died in Bihar on April 21, 2015.
The data was compiled by IMD’s climate monitoring section, which relies on media reports on deaths from these weather events.
That the May 2 storms were a particularly destructive extreme weather event is also indicated by wind speed figures from the IAF’s Kheria airbase near Agra. These show that at 20.45pm that night winds touched 68 knots
(125.93 kmph) — speeds that prevail during a Category 2 cyclone. “The wind speed of close to 126kmph lasted for 5-10 seconds. The steady wind speed during the storm was recorded at 58 knots
(107.41kmph),” said a Wing Commander-level officer.
“All conditions necessary for storms were present on May 2, and more. Significantly, strong easterly winds brought moisture into north India which amply fed the storms, giving these a destructive edge,” said M Mohapatra, DGM, IMD.
IMD’s data on thunderstorms reveals that these weather events are underrated killers. These storms are usually localised events and hence do not make major news. IMD’s data shows that as many as 388 people died in thunderstorms in 2013. While the casualty count has been slightly lower in subsequent years, 2018 could see another spike since more than 170 lives have been lost on just two stormy days this year — May 2 and April 11.
3rd May
Delhi: 2023
Safdarjung recorded 20. 9mm in nine hours, the highest single-day rainfall in 2023 till then, surpassing 20. 4mm reported on January 30, 2023.
1-3 May, 2023: Safdarjung logged 36. 9mm of rain in the first three days of May, exceeding the month’s normal rainfall of 30. 7mm.
Several other parts of the city recorded higher rain while there were reports of hail at a few spots.
Pitampura in northwest Delhi logged as much as 55. 5mm while Mungeshpur reported 31. 5mm and Lodhi Road 24. 6mm.
4th May
5th May
6th May
7th May
8th May
Uttarakhand, HP: Kedar: 3” snowfall/ Keylong minus 0.3°C; Gangotri: avalanche/ 2018
Late snowfall halts Kedarnath yatra |The Times of India
Rough weather struck north India on Tuesday, as forecast by the Met department, bringing dust storms and rain at many places in the plains and rare late-season snowfall in the higher reaches of the Himalayas that left at least 2,500 pilgrims stranded near the Kedarnath shrine.
The Kedarnath yatra was halted on Tuesday morning following 3 inches of snowfall in the Kedar valley. Among those stuck along the 16km trek route to the Himalayan shrine were former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat and Kedarnath MLA Manoj Rawat. According to the district emergency operation centre, over 2,200 pilgrims were halted at Sonprayag, 200 at Lincholi, 350 at Gaurikund and 60 at Bhimbali.
“Due to bad weather in Kedarnath, most devotees have been asked to stay in Sonprayag and wait for the pilgrimage to resume. They are being accommodated in hotels and guesthouses,” he said. Gangotri and Yamnotri in Uttarkashi district received up to six inches of snowfall on Tuesday, with temple priests at both shrines claiming that this was the first time in eight years that snowfall had occurred at this time of the year. But unlike Kedarnath, snowfall did not disrupt the yatra in Gangotri and Yamnotri.
State Met department director Bikram Singh said snowfall in May was unusual and a “rare phenomenon”.
In Himachal Pradesh, snow, hailstorms and rain lashed many parts, with reports of damage to crops, blocked roads and landslides in some areas. Devastating hailstorms in Shimla district damaged apple crop and a thick white sheet of hailstones was seen across the city. At -0.3°C, Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district, was the coldest inhabited place in the state. The Met department in Delhi said thunderstorms were observed at isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, among other places in the rest of the country.
Porter buried alive, 40 trekkers stuck as avalanche hits Gangotri National Park
Delhi: 34.7°C max/ light rain/ 64 km/hr dust storm/ 2018
Why capital missed its date with storm | The Times of India
The capital saw strong winds on Monday night as a dust storm lashed late with the speed touching a maximum of 64 km/hr around 11pm. While Delhi was prepared for something similar on Tuesday, it received a dust storm of a much lower intensity, with light rain recorded in parts of the national capital region, while winds blew at 35 km/hr on Tuesday night. Met officials said while they had forecast a dust storm of speed touching close to 50 km/hr — a majority of the thunderstorm activity took place in the early hours of Tuesday itself, resulting in no activity in the afternoon.
Six diversions were also reported on Monday night as the strong winds affected operations at the IGI airport, also causing delays. However, the intensity was much lower on Tuesday night.
“Most parts ofnorthern India were hit by the dust stor m and thunderstor m on Monday night itself and the intensity peaked at 11.03pm when the wind speed touched 64/km hr. These squall conditions also took place overnight and this is why there was no activity in the morning or afternoon as we had earlier forecast,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at the regional Met office.
“Parts of Noida, Ghaziabad and north Delhi received light rain on Tuesday night and wind speed was close to 35 km/hr as another dust storm struck the capital, but this was lower in intensity and this activity is normal for May,” said Srivastava.
On Monday, a number of agencies had geared up with a disaster management helpline activated, while government bodies issued advisories on what precautions could be taken. The Delhi Metro had also stated they would stop trains if wind speed exceeded 90 km/hr on Tuesday.
The maximum temperature on Tuesday was recorded at 34.7 degrees Celsius — four notches below normal, while a similar maximum temperature is forecast for Wednesday.
9th May
10th May
11th May
Delhi/ 42.8°C max: 2018
After hottest day of season, mercury may hit 43C today |The Times of India
Friday saw the hottest day of the season with the mercury touching 42.8 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, three degrees above normal.
12th May
Maharashtra,Chandrapur/ 46.6°C; 2nd hottest in world / 2018
Manka.Behl | The Times of India
At 46.6°C, Maha district second hottest in world
From the world’s fourth-hottest city, Chandrapur or Chanda became the second hottest on Saturday with a maximum temperature of 46.6 degree Celsius. Among the world’s 15 hottest cities, 13 are from India.
An international website ‘El Dorado Weather’ ranked Wardha and Nagpur as the world’s 5th and 15th hottest cities respectively, for the day. The world’s hottest city was Nawabshah in Pakistan, sizzling at a maximum temperature of 47.5 degree Celsius.
The maximum temperature of Wardha was 45.9 degree Celsius on Saturday and it was the second hottest in the region after Chandrapur.
13th May
Delhi NCR/ 109 kmph squall, dust storm; 40.8°C; .2mm rainfall; 4 dead: 2018
CAPITAL RUNS INTO ROUGH WEATHER | The Times of India
Over 70 flights were diverted from IGI airport and several departures were affected after runway operations had to be shut down due to “wind shear”.
FOUR DEAD IN NCR: Strongest Thunderstorm Activity Of Season Uproots Trees, Affects Flight, Rail & Metro Operations
A squall and dust storm with a wind speed of up to 109 kmph barrelled through Delhi and neighbouring areas on Sunday, affecting flight, rail and metro operations and uprooting trees. At least four people died and 26 were injured in the national capital region.
According to Met officials, the highest wind speed during the squall was recorded at 109km/hr at Safdarjung, followed closely by Palam at 96km/hr. Dark grey clouds started gathering around 3pm and, within an hour, much of Delhi, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Noida were plunged into darkness. People rushed for cover even as the strong winds and poor visibility affected traffic.
“The storm was quite intense, but it cleared up in a matter of hours. Such activity is common during this time of the season as Delhi has high temperatures and easterly winds with moisture are blowing. We also had a western disturbance affecting the region that led to the thunderstorm,” a senior met official said.
The capital’s maximum temperature during the day had touched 40.8 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung and 41.3 degrees Celsius at Palam — before the sudden change in the weather. Till 5.30pm, Safdarjung had recorded 4.2mm of rainfall while Palam received 0.8mm during the same period.
At least two loss of lives were reported in Delhi. Police said Sumwati Devi (56) was killed when a tree branch fell on her head near Patpargunj in east Delhi. In another incident, a 19-year-old Rohit died in southeast Delhi’s Jaitpur when construction material fell on him. Till late night, 75 trees were removed, officials added.
As many as 75 poles came crashing and 61 cases of tin sheds/brick-roof wall collapse were reported, police said.
In Ghaziabad, at least one person was killed and six injured in different incidents. The deceased was identified as Rajkumar alias Raju (40) of Bulandshahr. According to police, Raju was killed when a tree uprooted by the strong winds fell on his car in Lal Kuan area. “Four other persons were injured in the incident,” police said. In a separate incident, two minor girls, aged 13 and 15 years, respectively, were injured in Pasonda village in Sahibabad as the wall of a house collapsed on them. In Noida, a 42-year-old woman died and her son was injured after a large hoarding collapsed on their bike during the dust storm in Noida Extension on Sunday evening. The woman was identified as Jaimun Nisha, a resident of Haibatpur village in Bisrakh. Her son Imran (21) is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Noida.
Gurgaon, too, was greeted with a storm, followed by sporadic showers. Visibility was totally obscured by dust whipped up by heavy winds. Residents had to close their windows and doors to keep the dust off their rooms. The situation was severe in new sectors, where winds whipped up clouds of dust from the vast open fields that sprawl across the area. In several places, the wind also knocked down trees.
(With agency inputs)
UP, Bengal, Andhra/ 39 dead in storm; 2018
Storm & lightning kill 39 in 3 states | The Times of India
Road, Rail & Air Traffic Also Hit Across N India
Dust storms and thunderstorms wreaked havoc in Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, killing at least 39 people and leaving behind a trail of destruction.
UP bore the brunt of a thunderstorm and hail that left at least 18 dead, while 12 people including four children were killed in Bengal, nine in Andhra Pradesh, and two in Delhi, officials said.
At several places in north India, including Delhi, highvelocity winds uprooted trees and affected road, rail and air services. According to the India Meteorological Department, thunderstorms also occurred at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu on Sunday.
In Bengal, at least 12 people, including four children, were killed and over 15 injured in lightning strike amid heavy rain, an official of the state disaster management department said. In Andhra Pradesh, nine persons were killed in lightning strikes.
K Sathi Devi, head of National Weather Forecasting Centre, said two western disturbances had led to the inclement weather. PTI
14th May
Delhi, Strong wind, hailstorm: 2020
May 15, 2020: The Times of India
Strong wind, hailstorm bring respite as temp dips by 5°C
The capital and neighbouring cities were engulfed in a dust storm brought about by strong wind blowing at 72 kmph on Thursday evening. Grey skies soon took over and lashed parts of Delhi-NCR with rain and hail.
Met officials said a hailstorm was witnessed in isolated parts of north Delhi and Punjabi Bagh in west Delhi under the influence of western disturbance. Between 5.30pm and 8.30pm, Safdarjung recorded 0.4mm of rainfall, while Palam saw 'trace' of rainfall , IMD said.
Kuldeep Srivastava, IMD scientist and head of Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said squall with speed up to 72kmph was recorded at 5.45pm. “It helped bring down the temperature by 4-5 degrees, which had touched 40 degrees C during the day. A combination of a western disturbance and an induced cyclonic circulation over west Rajasthan led to this activity,” he added.
Citing high temperature and introduction of moisture through western disturbances, Srivastava explained that hailstorm was not uncommon for April-June.
15th May
Delhi/ 38.2°C / 39.7°C:2018
15 May After rain relief, brace for hotter days The Times of India
Delhi’s maximum temperature was recorded at 38.2 degrees Celsius on 15 May, two notches below normal for the season, while Palam was the hottest location with a maximum of 39.7 degrees Celsius.
16th May
Delhi/ 40.2 °C/ 42 °C / 98 km/hr: 2018
16 May 2018 Squall returns, fells trees and upsets power supply The Times of India
The capital witnessed another strong thunderstorm in the early hours. The squall saw several trees uprooted, damage to electricity poles and even flight disruptions during its brief spell as wind speed touched 106km/hr at Palam.
Officials at the airport said that while this was the seasons strongest squall, the impact on flights had been minimal as it occurred in the wee hours of Wednesday, resulting in three flight go-arounds and one diversion.
The change has been due to localised conditions. The temperatures have been very high and there has been high moisture in the air.
Met officials at the airport said the impact of the overnight storm was for around 2 hours. In terms of aviation impact at the IGI airport, this was the lowest impact as compared to the storm of April 6, May 2 and May 13 [2018] when a total of 32, 12 and 78 diversions took place respectively. The maximum speeds during these storms were 84, 80 and 95 km/hr, said an airport met official.
Piyal Bhattacharjee
The maximum speed at the Safdarjung observatory taken as the base for Delhis weather reached 98 km/hr during the squall period, officials said. Meanwhile, Wednesdays maximum temperature was recorded at 40.2 degrees Celsius and Palam recorded a high of 42 degrees Celsius.
Traffic control received 53 calls related to falling of trees and 6 calls about fallen poles during the dust storm The SDMC control room received 21 calls of fallen trees and three calls of partially collapsed debris.
17th May
Delhi/ 72 km/hr wind; 30°C; light rain: 2018
Mercury falls by 10C after storm, rain likely today | The Times of India
The capital witnessed yet another thunderstorm on Thursday evening, with skies becoming overcast around 5pm as wind speed went up to 50-70 km/hr. The mercury levels, which had touched a maximum of 41.2 degrees Celsius during the day, fell to around 30 degrees C as strong winds were felt across NCR. However, officials say its intensity was much lesser as compared to last two dust storms recorded over the past week.
Met office said that wind speed touched 72 km/hr at Palam while a maximum speed of 71 km/hr was recorded at Safdarjung, with both places recording a trace of rainfall as well. IGI airport also saw visibility drop following this, coming down from 4000 metres to around 1500 metres. Thunderstorm and light rain continued till 7.45 pm with gusty winds of 65km/hr. It brought down evening temperature by 7 to 8 degrees Celsius, said a Met official at the airport.
Officials said the weather activity can be attributed to a western disturbance with easterly winds and high temperature in the region creating ideal conditions for such localised storms.
2024/ North India
Vani Mehrotra/ India Today/ May 18, 2024
NCR
Najafgarh 47.4 degrees Celsius hottest place in country
Delhi Safdarjung 43.6 degrees Celsius; three notches above the normal. As many as eight stations in Delhi breached the 45 degrees Celsius mark.
Chandigarh 44.5 degrees Celsius, six notches above the season's normal limits.
Haryana
Rohtak 45.8 degrees Celsius
Sirsa 45.8 degrees Celsius
Hisar45.5,
Karnal 43.4
Ambala 43.4 degrees Celsius .
Bhiwani 43.2 degrees Celsius.
Punjab
Amritsar 44.3 degrees Celsius
Faridkot 43 degrees Celsius .
Patiala 44.4 degrees Celsius
Pathankot, 44.4 degrees Celsius
Ludhiana 43.8 degrees Celsius in.
Gurdaspur 43 degrees Celsius
Mohali 43.2 degrees Celsius.
Rajasthan
Barmer 46.5 degrees Celsius.
Dholpur 46.4 degrees
Fatehpur (Sikar)46.3 degrees
Phalodi 46 degrees
Pilani (Jhunjhunu) 45.9 degrees
Banasthali (Tonk) 45.8 degrees
Jaisalmer 45.8 degrees,
Churu 45.7 degrees
Jodhpur 45.5
Karauli 45.5.
18th May
Delhi; 47.6 °C: 2010
Palam Observatory
47.6 degrees Celsius, May 18, 2010
Delhi/ 41.6°C; 26.7°C; Humidity 24% to 55%/ 2018
18 May 2018 Rain likely today but day to stay hot | The Times of India
Delhi’s maximum temperature on Friday was recorded at 40.6 degrees Celsius while the minimum was 26.7 degrees Celsius. The hottest location in the capital was Palam with a maximum of 41.6 degrees Celsius.
Humidity, meanwhile, oscillated between 24% and 55%, officials said.
The national capital region over the past two weeks has seen a number of thunderstorms with squally winds that crossed 100km/hr on multiple occasions. The effect of the storms has also been such that several trees were uprooted over the past week while power outages, flight and metro disruptions were also reported.
Delhi: 30.8°Cmx/ 26.8mn/ 2021
Coldest May day in 4 yrs, thanks to Tauktae; orange alert for today
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi:
The city recorded the coldest day in May on Tuesday since 2017 as the maximum temperature dipped to 30.8 degrees Celsius, nine degrees below normal, due to the impact of Cyclone Tauktae.
Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD and head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said, “Under the influence of Cyclone Tauktae, Delhi saw rain, cloudy sky and cold easterly wind and hence, the maximum temperature dropped to nine degrees below normal.”
On Tuesday, several parts of Delhi witnessed drizzling. Safdarjung observatory, which is the city’s base station, recorded 0.1mm rainfall from 8.30am to 5.30 pm while Ayanagar reported 0.2mm rainfall during the same period. Palam, Lodhi Road and Jafarpur stations observed ‘trace’ rainfall from 8.30am to 5.30 pm. The minimum temperature was recorded at 26.8 degrees Celsius.
19th May
Delhi; 46°C : 2002
Safdarjung:
46-degrees-Celsius, May 19, 2002
Churu district, Rajasthan: 2016
50.2 degrees Celsius/ May 19, 2016
Delhi/ Dust storm; 41.4 °C: 2018
[19 May 2018 | The Hindu]
A dust storm hit the Capital on Saturday afternoon. The city experienced a sultry day with the mercury settling at 41.4 degrees Celsius, one notch above the season’s average. [ The Hindu]
2024: Najafgarh 47.8°C, hottest in India
Najafgarh 47.8°C, hottest area in the country
Gurgaon 45.5°C
Delhi 44.4°C
Ghaziabad 44.4°C
2024/ Himachal Pradesh hots up
May 20, 2024: The Times of India
Shimla : Tourists heading to the hill state of Himachal Pradesh to escape the scorching heat of the plains are disappointed to find a heatwave prevailing in parts of the state.
These conditions are likely to continue in isolated pockets of Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Solan, Sirmaur, Kangra, and Shimla districts for the next 4-5 days. There is also a possibility of severe heatwave in these districts. According to Indian Meteorological Centre, Shimla, the average maximum temperature in the state is likely to increase by 2-3 degrees in this period.
The average minimum temperature for mid hills, low hills, and plains of the state is likely to go up by 2-3 degrees and will remain above normal, whereas the minimum temperature for high hill areas is likely to decrease by 1-2 degrees. Tourist spots like Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Narkanda, and Kufri, which are witnessing a tourist influx, are reeling under sizzling heat these days.
On Sunday, Shimla recorded a maximum temperature of 29.5 degrees celsius, which is 4.5 degrees above normal, while Dharamshala logged a maximum temperature of 35.1 degrees celsius — 3.9 degrees above normal.
According to HP state disaster management authority action plan on heatwaves, the state has shown a significant trend of rising temperatures — 0.06 degree celsius per year on annual mean maximum temperature and 0.02 degree celsius per year on annual mean temperature between 1951 and 2010. The annual mean minimum temperature has shown a decreasing trend of 0.01 degree celsius per year for the same period.
20th May
21st May
Delhi/ 44.2°C mx, 27°C mn, Humidity 21> 47%: 2018
Delhi sizzled at 44°C on Monday, the hottest day of the season. Humidity levels oscillated between 21% and 47% on Monday. The minimum temperature recorded at Palam was 27 degrees while at Safdarjung, it was 25.5 degrees Celsius. (The Times of India )
On Monday, the minimum and maximum temperatures were recorded at 25.5 and 26.4 degrees and 41.8 degrees Celsius [Safdarjang], respectively. ([| PTI])
22nd May
Delhi/ 46°C mx, 26.2°C mn, humidity 45> 15%: 2018
Delhi records hottest day of season | PTI | May 22, 2018
NEW DELHI: The national capital on Tuesday recorded its hottest day of the season with the mercury soaring to 46 degrees Celsius in some parts of the city.
The Safdarjung observatory, whose recording is considered official, registered a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season's average, a Met department official said.
Areas under Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge and Ayanagar observatories recorded maximum temperatures of 46, 43.3, 44.3 and 44.7 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The minimum temperature settled at 26.2 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year, the official said.
The humidity level oscillated between 45 and 15 per cent.
23rd May
Delhi/ 45.2 °C/ 43 °C, ‘heatwave’ is declared 2018
Maximum temperature recorded at 45.2 degrees Celsius at Palam, while Safdarjung scorched at a high of 43 degrees Celsius. ‘We have declared a heatwave…,” said a met official. A ‘heatwave’ is declared when temperatures are above 40 degrees Celsius and more than four degrees above normal.
24th May
Delhi/ 43 to 44.1°C:2018
No let-up: 4-day heatwave likely to keep city sweating | The Times of India
The maximum temperature at Safdarjung — taken as the base for Delhi’s weather — was recorded at 43 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal for the season. Palam, meanwhile, was the hottest location in Delhi with a maximum of 44.1degrees Celsius. Both locations have been witnessing temperatures 3 to 6 degrees Celsius above normal for the last four, Met officials said. Warm winds continued to blow during the day, adding to the discomfort.
25th May
2020/ Heat wave in N. India, Churu hottest
New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) Heatwave conditions intensified in most of the northern states of India, with Churu in Rajasthan scorching at 47.5 degrees Celsius and the mercury breaching the 46-degree mark in parts of the national capital.
Chandigarh experienced a hot day at 42 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal limits.
Delhi The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded a high of 44 degrees Celsius, four notches more than normal.
Haryana, Hisar sizzled at 45 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal limits while Bhiwani recorded a high of 43.1 degrees Celsius. Karnal, too, braved intense heat at 43 degrees Celsius, up five notches against normal limits. Narnaul recorded the highest of 45.8 degrees Celsius
Punjab, Patiala recorded a high of 43.6 degrees Celsius, up by five degrees. Amritsar and Ludhiana too recorded above-normal maximums of 42.8 degrees Celsius and 43.1 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Rajasthan the daytime temperatures in most of the state were around 45-47 degrees Celsius, with Churu in Rajasthan scorching at 47.5 degrees Celsius
Uttar Pradesh Allahabad was the hottest at 46.3 degrees Celsius.
26th May
Delhi/ 45.5°C: 2015
Safdarjung was the highest on May 26, 2015 when a maximum of 45.5 degrees Celsius was recorded.
Churu district, Rajasthan: 2020
50 degrees Celsius/ 26 May 2020
Delhi: 46.2°C Palam’s hottest since 2015/ 45°C Safdarjung: 2018
City sizzles at 45°C, no respite in next 2-3 days The Times of India
Saturday was the highest at Safdarjung after three years as the mercury touched 45 degrees Celsius — five notches above normal. Palam also recorded its highest maximum temperature of the season at 46.2 degrees Celsius.
Met officials also pointed out that the last time when Palam hit 46 degrees Celsius, Safdarjung had a maximum of 44 degrees. However this time, the difference between them is just 1.2 degrees Celsius, which points towards the fact that the inner city is also heating up a lot. “This could be because on the first day of the heatwave on May 22, it was not uniformly spread, but as it has settled over the period, the temperature difference between the outer and inner parts of the city has been reducing,” said an official.
Meanwhile, a wildlife body claimed that two kites were rescued from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office after the birds collapsed due to severe heat exhaustion and dehydration. Wildlife SOS said its veterinarians were providing care to the birds.
Delhi; 46°C: 2020
Safdarjung:
46-degrees-Celsius, May 26, 2020
Delhi; 47.6°C: 2020
Palam Observatory:
47.6 degrees Celsius, May 26, 2020
2020: heat wave continues
Heat wave in several parts of north, west India; heavy rainfall in northeast The national capital recorded a maximum of 47.6 degrees Celsius in the Palam area PTI May 26, 2020
Arunachal Pradesh is witnessing incessant rains and a 30-year-old woman and her two children were buried alive after a massive landslide hit their house in Dibang Valley district.
Chandigarh: 43.1 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal limits.
Delhi: the Safdarjung Observatory recorded a maximum of 46 degrees Celsius, as Delhi sweltered under a scorching heat wave. The national capital recorded a maximum of 47.6 degrees Celsius in the Palam area. The IMD said the weather stations at Lodhi Road and Aya Nagar recorded their respective maximum at 45.4 degrees and 46.8 degrees Celsius.
Gujarat: the temperature ranged between 39 degrees Celsius to 43 degrees Celsius, with Ahmedabad recording 43.7 degrees Celsius,
Haryana: Hisar turning out to be the hottest place in the region at 48 degrees Celsius five notches above the normal.Narnaul recorded at 46 degrees Celsius and Karnal at 44 degrees Celsius.
Punjab: Patiala recorded a high of 44.7 degrees Celsius and Ludhiana 44.1 degrees Celsius.
Rajasthan : Bikaner, Ganganagar, Kota and Jaipur recorded maximum temperatures of 47.4 degrees Celsius, 47 degrees Celsius, 46.5 degrees Celsius and 45 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Uttar Pradesh: with Allahabad being the hottest place in the state at 47.1 degrees Celsius.Day temperatures rose appreciably over Gorakhpur and Faizabad divisions, it said.
27th May
28th May
Kerala: Rainfall; ‘It is not monsoon,' says IMD: 2018
With Kerala receiving good rains on Monday, private weather forecast agency Skymet Weather has announced the onset of monsoon in the state and arrival of the rainy season in India.
The national weather forecaster — India Meteorological Department (IMD) — however remained cautious, saying the monsoon will hit Kerala in the next 24 hours (on Tuesday) as predicted by it 10 days ago.
Skymet Weather, which had predicted May 28 (Monday) as the onset date, said: “The wait for arrival of much awaited southwest monsoon 2018 has finally come to an end on Monday. As per weathermen, all the criteria required for declaring onset of monsoon over the Indian mainland have been met.”
The technical aspects of the monsoon (as seen by Skymet and IMD) apart, the rains have arrived in Kerala with reports of wet conditions.
The southwest monsoon normally sets over Kerala on June 1. It advances northwards, usually in surges, and covers the entire country around July 15. The early onset this year may send a good signal for farmers as they may now start kharif sowing operation a bit early. Well-distributed normal rainfall invariably helps to expand acreage and increase production.
The IMD, however, stuck to its own prediction of May 29 as date of onset. Mritunjay Mohapatra, its additional director general, told TOI that the agency will formally announce its arrival on Tuesday after observing “consistency of all its parameters on the second day”. “Kerala got good rains on Monday and all the conditions are favourable. We’ll go by our own definition and criteria to formally announce the onset of monsoon,” he said.
Shimla/ Water crisis: 2018
Railway staff protested against water scarcity at Shimla. The scenic hill station was witness to some not-so-picturesque scenes on Monday, with a worsening water crisis triggered by scant snowfall forcing residents of one of its suburbs to fetch drinking water from a crematorium. Hundreds of agitated citizens even blocked the national highway at Kanlog bypass for around two and a half hours: From The Times of India
Delhi/ 43.5° C- 44.4°C: 2018
There was a slight drop in the maximum temperature on Monday as easterly winds blew towards the capital. While Safdarjung recorded a high of 43.5° Celsius, Palam recorded a maximum of 44.4° Celsius — four notches above normal for the season. Delhi had been experiencing a ‘heatwave’ for the past week.
29th May
Delhi/ 47.2°C: 1944
The highest maximum recorded ever at Safdarjung was on May 29, 1944 when it touched 47.2 degrees Celsius.
Kerala/ Southwest monsoon arrives: 2018
Southwest monsoon hits Kerala: IMD |PTI | May 29, 2018
June 1 is the official onset date for the arrival of monsoon in India
The southwest monsoon hit Kerala on Tuesday, three days before its scheduled arrival, says the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
30th May
31st May
2024: The six hottest places in India
49.6 degrees Celsius, Mungeshpur Delhi, hottest in India
49.4 degrees Celsius Narela Delhi, 2nd hottest in India
49.2 degrees Celsius Najafgarh west Delhi, which 3rd hottest in India
48.8 degrees Celsius Sirsa Haryana the fourth hottest place in the country,
48.3 degrees Celsius Jafarpur Delhi the fifth warmest
48.3 degrees Celsius Pusa Delhi the fifth warmest
45.8 degrees Celsius Safdarjung, six notches above normal
See also
January weather in India <> February weather in India <> March weather in India <> April weather in India <> May weather in India <> June weather in India <> Summers: India<> Heatwaves: India <>July weather in India <> August weather in India <> September weather in India <> Monsoons: India<> October weather in India <> November weather in India <> December weather in India <> Winter rains: India <> Winters: India <> Heatwaves: India