Tag: Delhi heat wave

Delhi Govt Imposes Rs 2K Fine on Wastage of Water as Mercury Nears 50°C

Delhi is dependent on the neighbouring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to meet its ever-increasing need for water.

New Delhi: With temperature in Delhi nearing 50 degrees Celsius, the government in the country’s capital has imposed a fine of Rs. 2,000 on wastage of water. The decision was taken by the Delhi government a day after Delhi water minister Atishi held a press conference and said that if wastage of water went unchecked, it will have to impose a challan on excess use of water to control an impending water crisis amidst the searing heat wave.

On Tuesday, Mungeshpur in Northwest Delhi recorded a temperature of 49.9 degrees Celsius, just short of the 50 degrees mark, reported The Indian Express.

“Have issued directions to crackdown on wastage of water and illegal water connections. 200 teams of Delhi Jal Board will hit the ground. Fines will be imposed on anyone washing cars with pipes or with overflowing water tanks. Illegal water connections at construction sites and at commercial establishments will be disconnected,” water minister Atishi wrote on X on Wednesday, also sharing a copy of the order.

According to the freshly-issued order of the Delhi government, the teams will be deployed from 8am on Thursday morning and a fine of Rs. 2,000 will be imposed on anyone found wasting water. Any illegal water connections on construction sites or commercial establishments shall be disconnected, the order added.

The teams have been constituted to crackdown on washing of cars with pipes, overflowing water tanks and use of domestic water supply for construction or commercial purposes.

Earlier on Tuesday, water minister Atishi had warned the public against wastage of water. Atishi cited instances such as washing cars using a hose and overflowing tanks to say that such wastage of water won’t be tolerated.

“Even today I saw that in many residential areas of South Delhi, water is flowing in the driveways outside people’s houses due to washing of vehicles. My appeal to everyone is that you should not wash vehicles this way. If this public appeal does not work in the next one or two days, it is possible that we may have to impose a challan on excess usage of water. But right now we are issuing this appeal,” The Indian Express had quoted the minister speaking about the water shortage on Tuesday. A day later, the government decided to impose the Rs. 2,000 fine.

The Delhi government has also decided to rationalise the supply of water in various areas of the capital, reducing water supply from twice a day to once a day in certain areas.

Delhi is dependent on the neighbouring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to meet its ever-increasing need for water. With the looming crisis the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi has accused the BJP government in Haryana of not releasing Delhi’s share of water since May 1.

Minister Atishi has said that if the issue is not resolved soon, Delhi will approach the Supreme Court.

The minister said that due to Haryana not releasing Delhi’s share of water, the raw water amount has decreased with water treatment plants in different areas also slowing down.

As per a 2020-23 economic survey, Delhi’s water requirement stands at 1,290 million gallons daily (MGD), with the capital city getting 64 per cent of its water requirement met through Haryana and 26.5 per cent through Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi Hits 48º C on Monday, Highest Ever in June

The heat wave is likely to persist, the IMD said.

New Delhi: The mercury shattered all records in Delhi on Monday with parts of the national capital registering 48 degrees Celsius, the highest for the month of June.

The all-time record for the city is of 48.4 degrees Celsius, recorded by the Palam Observatory on May 26, 1998, Devendra Pradhan, additional director general of the India Meteorological Department said.

“The Palam Observatory recorded an all-time high for the month of June at 48 degrees Celsius on Monday. The factors that led to this are dry westerly winds, no effect of a western disturbance in the plains and intense heating in the month of June,” said IMD’s regional weather forecasting chief Kuldeep Srivastava.

Also read: Heat Waves Could Kill – Partly Thanks to an Outdated Definition

“Southwesterly winds on Tuesday may cause the temperature to drop by one or two notches. However, the heat wave will persist,” he said.

The temperature in the Palam area is always one or two notches more than that at the rest of the places as emissions due to high aviation activity also adds to the heat, Srivastava said.

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides official figures for the city, recorded a high of 45.6 and a low of 27.2 degrees Celsius.

The weather stations at the Delhi Ridge, Ayanagar and Lodhi Road recorded the mercury at 47.9, 47 and 46 degrees Celsius.

People walk on Raisina Hill on Monday. Image: PTI/Atul Yadav

Private forecaster Skymet Weather said, “This significant rise in the day temperatures is the result of unabated flow of hot and dry winds from northwest direction.”

Hot dry winds – loo – swept the city, aggravating the woes of people who had to venture out for work.

There is a rise in the number of patients visiting emergency wards at AIIMS and Safdarjung too, doctors said.

At various Delhi government-run hospitals too, more patients are coming with heat-related complications but nothing worrisome so far, doctors added.

Power discom officials said that due to the oppressive heat, the peak power demand rose to 6,632 MW at 3:42 pm on Monday.

However, the season’s highest demand was recorded at 6,658 MW on June 6. This year, the highest peak demand is expected to cross the 7,400-MW mark, they said. Last year, the power demand breached the 7,000-MW mark for the first time in the city – peaking at 7,016 MW, they added.

No immediate relief is expected from the ongoing severe heat wave conditions over Delhi-NCR during the next 24 hours.

However, a deep depression in the Arabian Sea, that is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm, is expected to bring relief thereafter, Skymet said.

“Relief from heatwave in sight for North West India including Delhi and NCR. Pre Monsoon activities, in the form of Dust-storm and rain will commence from June 12th. May occur on and off until 14th (sic),” Mahesh Palawat, vice president meteorology and climate change at Skymet Weather, tweeted.

Watch: India Burning: Heat Wave Grips Large Parts Of The Country

A “red-colour” warning stands for the national capital for Monday.

The IMD has four colour-coded messages – green, yellow, amber and red. Green indicates normal conditions while red denotes extreme weather situations.

In large areas, a heat wave is declared when the mercury touches the 45-degree mark for two consecutive days and a severe heatwave is when the temperature soars to 47 degrees Celsius for two days on the trot, according to the IMD.

In small areas, like the national capital, a heatwave is declared if the maximum temperature is recorded at 45 degrees Celsius even for a day, it said.