Delhi’s soaring ‘real feel’ temperature highlights how humidity, driven by moisture-laden winds and a delayed monsoon, is making the heat more dangerous than the mercury suggests.
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Delhi Rain (PTI)
Delhi weather: Delhi may have stopped short of its hottest day on paper, but it felt far more punishing. While the mercury peaked at 37°C, the city’s ‘real feel’ or heat index soared to 51.9°C, underscoring how humidity can turn moderate heat into dangerous conditions. The unusual mugginess gripping north India is a reminder that heat is not measured by temperature alone. As monsoon remains delayed, moisture-laden winds and rising humidity are amplifying discomfort and increasing health risks across the region.
Why Delhi feels like 53°C at 37°C?
Meteorologists attribute the sticky conditions to southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea, which are feeding moisture into northwestern India even as the monsoon, delayed beyond its normal Delhi onset date of June 27, is yet to arrive. Until then, the oppressive combination of heat and humidity is likely to be interrupted only briefly by scattered thunderstorms.
Also read: Delhi weather: Relief for residents of national capital as rain lashes city
What is heat index (HI)?
The heat index (HI), or ‘real feel’ temperature, estimates how hot conditions feel to the human body by accounting for both air temperature and humidity. Developed from the work of American meteorologist Robert Steadman in the 1970s and early 1980s and later adapted into the Rothfusz equation by the US National Weather Service in 1990, the index reflects how high humidity slows sweat evaporation, weakening the body’s natural cooling mechanism and making such weather more hazardous than hot, dry conditions.
Southwest Monsoon arrives in most parts of Uttarakhand
The Southwest Monsoon arrived in most parts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, bringing heavy rainfall and providing relief from heat and humidity.
Announcing the monsoon’s arrival across the majority of the state, the Dehradun Meteorological Centre stated that conditions are favourable for it to reach the remaining areas within the next two to three days.
‘Orange alert’ issued for Dehradun
An ‘orange alert’ has been issued for Dehradun and Bageshwar districts, predicting isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a ‘yellow alert’ has been issued for Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, Udham Singh Nagar, Pithoragarh and Haridwar, forecasting isolated heavy rainfall. On Tuesday, Dehradun recorded a maximum temperature of 33.5 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 26.3 degrees Celsius, which are two and three degrees above normal, respectively.
(With inputs from agencies)
