Delhi Records Warmest May Night in 14 Years: Here's Why Heatwave is Getting More Intense | GRAVITAS

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Well, let's talk about the weather now.

[00:00:01]India is witnessing another intense summer with a heat wave sweeping across large parts of India. Several regions are seeing temperatures soar well beyond 45° C.

[00:00:12]What is exacerbating the situation is that the nights are increasingly getting warmer as well. For instance, New Delhi.

[00:00:20]New Delhi recorded a rather warm night on Thursday as the minimum temperature touched 31.9° C. In fact, it also marked the warmest night recorded in India's national capital in May in the last 14 years.

[00:00:35]The previous warmest May night was on the 27th of May back in 2012 when the minimum temperature reached 34.2° C.

[00:00:44]Amidst this, New Delhi saw its first major heat stroke case as well after a 24-year-old man traveling by train was rushed to a hospital in an unconscious state. As per reports, doctors initiated life-saving treatment protocols to stabilize his condition and reduce his high internal body temperature.

[00:01:05]Now, let's understand why is India's heat wave getting so intense? As per consulting firm Climate Trends, one of the major reasons is human-induced climate change.

[00:01:17]The situation is especially worse in cities because dense built-up areas function like heat traps absorbing heat during the day and releasing it slowly at night.

[00:01:28]It also highlights that all India average nighttime temperature rose by about 0.21° C between 2010 and 2024.

[00:01:39]According to Climate Trends, the rise in humidities making heat stress worse. For instance, India witnessed over 16,000 hot and humid days between 2020 and 2024.

[00:01:50]The human toll of this heat wave can't be understated.

[00:01:54]As per Climate Meter, 44 million Indians were directly affected by the heat wave in April this year.

[00:02:02]It also highlighted that Lucknow city saw a 30 to 40% increase in heat related cases, signaling tough days ahead. It also claims that a combination of heat and an erratic monsoon could push inflation above 5%.

[00:02:20]Meanwhile, Indians are unlikely to get respite anytime soon with the India Meteorological Department predicting heat wave conditions in the national capital, in Uttar Pradesh, in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab until the 28th of May.