The mercury in Delhi has touched 43.5 degrees Celsius, a figure that feels almost nostalgic for those who remember the precise climatological records kept by the British Raj. Today, as the city swelters under a heatwave that feels more oppressive than the number suggests, one cannot help but note the irony: colonial-era weather stations, built to monitor the subcontinent’s climate, still provide some of the most reliable data we have.
The accuracy of those 19th-century instruments, calibrated to standards that persist in modern meteorology, underscores a sobering truth. Climate change is not just about average temperatures rising; it is about the frequency and intensity of extremes. The 43.
5C recorded at Safdarjung Observatory, a station established in 1875, is not an anomaly but a harbinger. The urban heat island effect, exacerbated by concrete and asphalt, pushes real-feel temperatures higher. Meanwhile, the power grid strains under the load of air conditioners, and the most vulnerable labour in open fields.
The data is clear: the planet is warming, and Delhi is on the front line. We must transition to renewable energy and green infrastructure, not as a luxury but as a survival imperative. The British may have left, but their weather records remain a benchmark.
Now we must use that data to build a resilient future.
