A heat wave swept through Delhi and nearby cities like Gurgaon
Highlights
- An intense heat wave swept across the national capital
- Delhi reported a maximum temperature of 43.4 degree Celsius
- Gurgaon reported 44.7 degree Celsius
An intense heat wave swept across the national capital and nearby cities like Gurgaon on Wednesday. Delhi reported a maximum temperature of 43.4 degree Celsius, according to the Palam observatory of the India Meteorological Department. Gurgaon reported 44.7 degree Celsius. The temperature in both the neighbouring cities was over 7 degree Celsius more than the normal temperature for this time of the year, prompting the weather office or the IMD to classify it as "severe extreme heat".
The rise in temperature in the national capital led to a subsequent spike in power consumption as more and more people turn to air-conditioning for long periods.
And with monsoon yet to reach Delhi, the peak power demand rose to 6,921 megawatt (MW) on Wednesday, the highest so far this summer, according to news agency PTI.
Officials of power distribution companies or discoms have said Delhi's peak power demand has already crossed last year's peak of 6,314 MW at least five times - June 30, 29, 28, 24 and 23.
The two discoms - BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL) - successfully met the peak power demand of 2,937 MW and 1,558 MW, respectively, in their areas, a spokesperson of the power utility said.
Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd successfully met the peak power demand of 1,974 MW, the highest so far this season, this afternoon without any network constraint and power outage, a TPDDL spokesperson said.
With people continuing to work from home and many still not going out due to Covid guidelines, the national capital's peak power demand is expected to be in the range of 7,000 MW to 7,400 MW.
With inputs from PTI