Temperatures cross 52 degrees Celsius, water crisis: How Delhi is struggling this summer

Delhi has been dealing with a severe heatwave for a month.

In addition to its rising mercury, the National Capital, which initially aimed to supply 24x7 water to its residents, now faces a water crisis.

State water minister Atishi Marlena urged the residents to use water wisely.

She has announced a slew of measures, including reducing water supply in some regions to only once, instead of two.

On Wednesday, she further directed the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board to deploy 200 teams across the city starting at 8 am on 30 May to crackdown on water wastage.

Let’s take a look.

Severe heatwave in Delhi

A severe heat wave has gripped Delhi and parts of central and northwest India. Mungeshpur in Northwest Delhi recorded its highest-ever temperature at 52.3 degrees Celsius on Wednesday at 2.30. This is India’s hottest day, according to a report in NDTV.

The capital also reported its all-time high power demand of 8,302 megawatts (MW).

Tuesday was also terrible. Two autonomous weather stations in Mungeshpur and Narela reached 49.9 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature at Safdarjung, the city’s base station, reached 45.8 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature this season and the highest since May 2020, when it reached 46 degrees Celsius.

Water crisis

On Monday, the water supply reached a season-low among Delhi’s record temperatures.

According to DJB data, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) was only supplying 966.16 million gallons per day (mgd), which was 33.84 million gallons less than the typical supply of 1,000 million gallons per day and 323.84 million fewer than the expected water demand of 1,290 million gallons per day, as per Hindustan Times.

People also complained of severe shortages, claiming their daily routines were disrupted, in areas of central, north, and south Delhi, including Vasant Kunj, Model Town, and Timarpur, among other places.

On Monday, DJB received 980 complaints about water through its helpline. Of them, 714 dealt with a lack of water supply, while other complaints included low pressure and pollution, as per the outlet.

Residents of Vasant Kunj, which is near the end of the supply network, report that they have been experiencing water scarcity for the past week and that things have been getting worse.

Residents in other localities, including Yamuna Vihar, Hauz Khas, Preet Vihar, Shriniwaspuri, Kishangarh, West Patel Nagar, Molarband, and Lado Sarai, also filed a number of complaints.

More on heatwave:

A heatwave is hitting North India, including Delhi: How intense will it be?

Mumbai heatwave: Why temperatures are touching nearly 40 degrees Celsius

Hottest April in parts of India. Will May be warmer?

Severe heatwave in India: Why this April has been warmer than previous years

Water rationing likely

In accordance with the water minister Atishi’s rationing plan, which was unveiled on Tuesday, several South Delhi areas — including portions of Greater Kailash, Lajpat Nagar, Panchsheel Park, Hauz Khas, Chittaranjan Park, and surrounding areas — are expected to receive water supplies just once a day as opposed to twice, as per The Times of India.

“The borewells that were earlier working six to seven hours have been functional for 14 hours. We have also increased the number of water tankers. Starting today, we are reducing water supply in those areas where it is supplied twice a day to once a day. The rationalised water will be supplied to areas grappling with water crisis,” she said, according to Mint.

As harsh conditions have prevailed around the city for the past few days, Atishi has encouraged residents to use water wisely.

“I appeal to all Delhites, whether your area has water shortage or not, please use water supply rationally…” she said while speaking at a press conference on Tuesday.

She also asked that people not waste water, even going so far as to threaten fines for anyone seen using too much water.

According to News18, offenders will face a Rs 2000 fine, and illegal water connections at construction sites or commercial establishments will be disconnected.

She urged everyone not to use pipes to wash their cars.

“Don’t use the water supply to wash your cars. This is a wasteful use of water,” she said, as per Mint.

“Please make sure water is not wasted because of continuously running water motors… Delhi is witnessing an acute heatwave and Haryana is releasing very little amount of water in Delhi,” Atishi said, adding, “If in the next two days, this public appeal is not proved effective, then we may have to impose a challan/fine on excess use of water. Misuse of water is highly irresponsible.”

The 200 DJB teams that will be deployed starting at 8 am on Thursday, will target the washing of cars with pipes, overflowing water tanks, and the use of domestic water supply for construction or commercial purposes, as per News18.

‘Haryana not releasing Delhi’s share of water’

Atishi further claimed that Haryana was not been releasing Delhi’s water share since 1 May.

“Haryana has stopped the release of Delhi’s share of water. The water level at Wazirabad was 674.5 feet on 1 May. This is the average level that should be maintained. Last year in April, May and June, the minimum level was maintained at 674.5 feet,” Atishi was quoted by PTI as saying.

She said that the Delhi government is constantly talking to Haryana about the issue and if it is not resolved in the next couple of days, it may approach the Supreme Court over the matter.

Sharing data, the minister said till 8 May, the water level at Wazirabad came down to 672 feet and by 20 May it was at 671 feet and on Tuesday, it declined further to 669.8 feet.

Notably, 64 per cent of Delhi’s water needs are met through Haryana, and 26.5 per cent through Uttar Pradesh, as per the latest economic survey. The National Capital’s daily water requirement is 1,290 million gallons, according to the survey for 2022-23.

On 24 May, the Delhi Jal Board said in a press release, as per Indian Express that water production had been ramped up to “close to 1,000 mgd” against an installed capacity of 956 mgd (through more extraction from tubewells and ranney wells).

However, as per the newspaper citing the water utility’s summer reports, since 11 May, it has been averaging around 980 mgd.

The quantity that the treatment plants (WTP) produce and the amount of water dispersed across the city, both drop when the amount of raw water decreases, as per TOI.

According to DJB data, there has been a constant decline in water supply over the past week.

As per Hindustan Times, the supply levels logged at 94 mgd on 23 May, 983.2 mgd on 24 May, 980.73 mgd on 25 May, 969.32 mgd on 26 May and 966.16 mgd on 27 May, all below the 1,000 mgd supply mark.

The outlet quoted an unnamed senior DJB official as saying that a reduction in water treatment is due to the low level of the Yamuna at Wazirabad Pond.

“We also faced power failure at the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant and there was complete power failure between 11.20 am and 12.20 pm. There were other three instances of power fluctuations that impacted the water supply at this facility,” the official said.

With inputs from agencies