Chandigarh, April 26 -- Blistering heat gripped the city on Friday as the mercury breached the 40degC mark for the first time this season, marking the onset of heatwave conditions, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD)

With the scorching weather expected to intensify in the coming days, IMD has issued a yellow alert for the heatwave. The second highest of the four-colour warning system, the alert asks people to stay updated.

A heatwave is declared in this region when the maximum temperature crosses the 40degC mark and over 4.5 degrees above normal.

On Friday, it rose from Thursday's 39.5degC to 40.5degC, a searing 4.6 degrees above normal and the highest for an April day in three years.

Before this, the maximum temper...