Delhi recorded its warmest night in the month of May in nearly 14 years as the minimum temperature settled at 31.9 degrees Celsius on Thursday, according the weather office, while cities across India swelter in heatwave conditions.
The last time the minimum temperature was higher than this was on May 26, 2012, when the minimum temperature settled at 32.5 degrees Celsius.
Safdarjung, with a minimum temperature of 31.9 degrees Celsius, and Lodi Road, were among the stations that recorded warm night conditions, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
A warm night is declared when the maximum temperature remains 40 degrees Celsius or more and the minimum temperature departure is between 4.5 degrees Celsius and 6.4 degrees Celsius above normal, according to the IMD.
The city has been placed under an orange alert as the maximum temperature is expected to touch 46 degrees Celsius, with the IMD forecasting heatwave conditions during the day.
Delhi recorded the first heatwave day of the month on Tuesday, with dry winds and the searing sun pushing temperatures past 45 degrees Celsius. The impact of the soaring temperatures was visible in OPDs and emergency wards across city hospitals, with labourers exposed to the harsh afternoon sun reporting heat stress, while elderly persons arrive with weakness and dehydration.
In Samba, Jammu, the maximum temperature touched 45.7 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, while heatwave conditions prevailed over most of the Union Territory.
The Jammu and Kashmir labour department on Wednesday issued a detailed advisory to protect workers and labourers against prevailing heatwave conditions across the Union territory.
The Haryana government on Wednesday declared summer vacation for all schools from May 25 to June 30. The decision, taken by Chief Minister Naib Singh Saini, comes amid prevailing hot weather conditions in the past few days, with maximum temperature hovering close to 45 degrees Celsius at several places in the state.
Uttar Pradesh's Banda district on Wednesday recorded the highest temperature in the country at 48 degrees Celsius, with the meteorological department issuing a warning of severe heatwave conditions at several places in the state over the next week.