Delhi records sweltering night temperatures as city reels under heatwave

Indian city recorded all-time high of 52°C in May and blistering temperatures continue

A railway worker shields his face from the sun as he inspects railway tracks in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday. Reuters

Millions of Delhi residents experienced simmering record night temperatures, the highest in over a decade on Wednesday as the Indian city continues to reel under a gruelling heatwave.

Vast swathes of India, particularly the northern region, are experiencing one of the country's hottest spells in recent years, with temperatures reaching record highs.

The capital, New Delhi, is one of the worst-hit places, witnessing blistering heat.

The city recorded 42ºC on Tuesday but the heat index – the feeling of heat on the human body – touched 51ºC, and the night was the warmest in more than 12 years with temperatures reaching 35.2 ºC, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.

“I went out for a walk in the evening, but it was insufferable,” Aditi Singh, a Delhi resident, told The National. “At home, we kept the air conditioner on for the whole night but there were episodes of power outages. Those brief moments were suffocating.”

Since April, Delhi has experienced bouts of prolonged heatwaves and high temperatures, including an all-time high for the megacity at 52ºC in May.

The densely populated city of 32 million has experienced scant rainfall as high surface temperatures continue to aggravate the crisis.

At least five people, mostly daily wage labourers, have died at the city's Ram Manohar Lohia hospital due to heatstroke in the past 72 hours, the hospital said.

The dead were mainly from poor socio-economic backgrounds.

“We are seeing a disproportionate number of cases of heatstroke patients being admitted to our hospital,” Dr Ajay Chauhan, professor in the Department of Medicine at RML hospital, who is looking after heat casualties, told The National.

“We seldom get heatstroke patients and have reported heatstroke deaths. I don’t recount declaring such deaths in past many years but this year we have seen a total of 10 deaths, five in the last 72 hours,” he said.

At least 36 people suffering from heatstroke have been admitted to the hospital, a dozen since Tuesday.

In one case, a patient was admitted with an unprecedented 41ºC temperature and was put in a tub filled with ice and cold water to regulate his body temperature.

The hospital has set up a dedicated unit for patients suffering from heatstroke.

“An overwhelming number of patients are [middle-aged] males … from poor sections of the society who have to compulsorily work and venture out in heat,” Dr Chauhan said.

“We use an immersion method where we maintain a room at 16ºC and immerse the patient in a ceramic tub with ice. Only the head is out, and we pour cold water with sponges to lower the body temperature. In heatstroke cases, every minute counts.”

At the city's Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital, three patients died of heatstroke and five patients admitted with 41ºC fevers are on ventilators, media reports said.

Delhi’s power demand has also surged significantly as residents rely on air conditioners and water coolers.

The city's dwellers consumed a record 8,647MW of power on Tuesday, according to the State Load Dispatch Centre.

The country's meteorological department has warned that the severe heatwave will persist in Delhi and neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana until June 20.

The weather agency also said India is facing below-normal rainfall in June due to the monsoon’s slow progress, raising concerns for the country's farming sector.

The monsoon usually enters India's mainland from the southern state of Kerala around June 1.

It then gradually moves north-west, covering the entire subcontinent over the following three months, bringing respite from the heat and around 75 per cent of the total annual rainfall.

But this year, India has received 20 per cent less rainfall than normal since the beginning of the monsoon, according to data compiled by the IMD.

India’s agriculture depends heavily on the monsoon and the amount of rain determines not just farming production – as it irrigates over half of the country’s crop land – but also the country's economy and trade.