‘Loo hits like fire after 9am’: Varanasi reels at 44.3°C

Varanasi: Friday in Varanasi unfolded under a dome of unyielding heat. Dawn offered some relief as the sky shifted, but by 9 am, the reprieve dissolved. Fierce loo winds rose, and the city surrendered to searing heat once more. At BHU, the IMD recorded a blistering 44.3°C — 4.6 degrees above normal.

According to IMD, night offered little relief as the minimum temperature stood at 23.2 degrees Celsius, 0.3 units above normal.

Hot winds grew stronger by afternoon. City roads saw thinner traffic and the ghats looked deserted. The meteorological department has issued a heatwave alert for three more days.

A shift in weather and cloud movement is expected after that.

Varanasi’s brutal heatwave is emptying streets and stalling work. “By 11 am the seat burns,” says auto driver Ramesh Yadav in Godowlia, who ties wet towels on his head to keep going as the loo “hits like fire after 9am.”

At Dashashwamedh Ghat, flower seller Phoolmati watches tourists vanish by noon: “This heat has chased them away. Sales are down to half.” In Sigra, tea stall owner Manoj Gupta has switched from chai to lassi — and shutters from 1 to 4 pm. “Even shade isn’t cool.”
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