Agra heatwave: City becomes Uttar Pradesh’s hottest at 47.5°C as IMD flags more scorching days

Agra heatwave: City becomes Uttar Pradesh’s hottest at 47.5°C as IMD flags more scorching days Aug, 25 2025

Agra tops Uttar Pradesh at 47.5°C as heat tightens its grip

The number to start with is brutal: 47.5°C. Agra clocked the state’s highest temperature today, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), pushing daily life to a crawl and turning mid-day errands into endurance tests. The Lucknow Meteorological Centre said Prayagraj hit 46.9°C and Jhansi touched 47.6°C, but Agra held the top spot on the temperature sheet through the afternoon.

Between 11 am and 4 pm, the city felt like a furnace. Street vendors kept wet towels over their heads, rickshaw pullers hunted for shade at every standstill, and construction workers cut their shifts short as metal scaffolding burned to the touch. With humidity hovering around 45%, the heat clung to the skin, pushing the feels-like temperature well beyond the reading on the thermometer.

The Agra heatwave is not a one-off spike. The city has a habit of flirting with extremes. In 2022, it reached 47.7°C at the peak of a severe statewide heatwave, while Banda set the Uttar Pradesh record that year at 49.2°C. IMD’s rule of thumb is clear: in the plains, 45°C and above qualifies as a heatwave; 47°C and above is a severe heatwave. Agra crossed that second line today.

Why Agra? Geography plays a role. The Yamuna belt tends to run hot in late pre-monsoon weeks. Dry, westerly winds sweep in, cloud cover stays thin, and the city’s semi-arid setting means the land heats fast and cools slowly. Add dense built-up areas with little shade, and you get a classic urban heat-island effect: concrete and asphalt store heat through the day and release it slowly at night.

IMD has a heatwave warning in place and expects the top temperatures to stay above 45°C for at least the next three days. There is a chance of an evening thundershower tomorrow—brief relief, possibly with gusty winds and dust—but forecasters say any cooldown will likely be temporary. If you feel the wind switch late in the day and see towering clouds build to the west, that’s your sign a short burst of rain could be on the way.

Agra’s climate risk profile is moving in the wrong direction. City-level assessments now rate its climate change severity score as “Very High” at 62/100, a 21.4% worsening compared with the last 15 years. That tracks with what residents are living through: more frequent hot days, hotter nights, and longer runs of back-to-back heatwave days before the monsoon settles the dust.

Health strain, emergency steps, and the farm fallout

Health strain, emergency steps, and the farm fallout

Hospitals in the city report a 30% jump in heat-related cases—dehydration, heat exhaustion, and suspected sunstroke. Doctors say the common red flags are heavy sweating that suddenly stops, dizziness, pounding headaches, nausea, and hot, dry skin. For anyone with heart, kidney, or lung issues, the strain is higher. Children, the elderly, and pregnant women are especially vulnerable.

The city administration has moved into mitigation mode. Extra water kiosks are open at markets and bus stands, tanker refills have been stepped up in low-supply neighborhoods, and schools have switched to online classes for the next week to keep students out of the afternoon sun. Worksites have been advised to shift hours to mornings and late evenings where possible, and civil defense teams are checking for shade and drinking water near crowded intersections.

Utilities are juggling high demand. As air-conditioners and coolers run nonstop, power load typically surges on late afternoons and early evenings. Water use climbs too—especially when families try to cool rooms and store extra drinking water. Officials have urged residents to conserve where they can and to avoid drawing from unsafe sources during low-pressure hours. If you must mix your own rehydration drink, a simple oral solution works: clean water, a pinch of salt, and a spoon of sugar.

Here’s the short, practical playbook health workers are repeating across the city:

  • Avoid direct sun from late morning to late afternoon. Reschedule workouts, errands, and outdoor jobs.
  • Drink water often; add electrolytes after heavy sweating. Skip alcohol during the day—it dehydrates you faster.
  • Wear loose, light-colored cotton. Use a wide-brim hat or an umbrella. Carry a damp cloth for the back of your neck.
  • Cool your body: frequent splashes of water, cool showers, or a wet towel on wrists and ankles.
  • Never leave children, older adults, or pets in parked vehicles—even for a minute.
  • Check on neighbors who live alone. Heat stress sneaks up on people.

If someone shows signs of heat exhaustion—faintness, heavy sweating, muscle cramps—move them to shade, loosen clothing, give sips of water or an oral rehydration solution, and cool the skin. If they become confused, stop sweating, or struggle to breathe, treat it as heat stroke and call emergency services immediately.

Farmers on the city’s outskirts are staring at a different kind of stress. Extended hot spells can scorch leafy vegetables such as spinach and coriander, blister tomatoes and cucurbits, and cause premature fruit drop in orchards. Mango growers worry about sunscald on exposed fruit and the risk of a sudden hot wind snapping tender stems. The advice from field officers is familiar but urgent: mulch to keep the soil moist, water in the evening to reduce evaporation, shield young plants with shade nets where possible, and avoid mid-day fertilizer applications that can burn roots under high heat.

Dairy and livestock feel the heat too. Cattle drink more and eat less, pushing down milk yields on the hottest days. Shade, clean water, and sprinklers or misting in sheds can blunt losses. Midday grazing should be limited, and salt-and-mineral mixes added to water can help animals retain fluids.

Air quality takes a hit when heatwaves stretch out. Under intense sunlight, ground-level ozone can build up, irritating the lungs and making outdoor work tougher for people with asthma or COPD. Dust raised by gusty winds ahead of evening clouds can briefly worsen breathing issues. Masks won’t cool you down, but they can help on dusty days.

What might ease future summers? Urban planners point to cool roofs (reflective coatings on terraces), more roadside trees, shaded bus stops, and restoring water bodies to damp down local temperatures. Early warning text alerts timed to neighborhood-level forecasts help people plan their day—especially outdoor workers. On days like this, even small steps add up: a tree that throws shade on a tea stall, a white-painted rooftop that drops a room’s temperature by a few degrees, a volunteer handing out ORS at a busy crossing.

For now, the forecast stays tough. Expect more afternoons above 45°C through midweek, with a small chance of a late-day thundershower tomorrow. If the storm does arrive, enjoy the cool breeze—but keep in mind the heat is likely to return once the clouds move on. Keep water handy, slow your pace outdoors, and pay attention to IMD updates and civic advisories as the week unfolds.