Hyderabad: As temperatures continue to soar, the Indian Meteorological Department is circulating a warning issued by Indian Oil corporation urging motorists not to fill their vehicles’ fuel tanks to maximum capacity. The warning is only for vehicles running on petrol.
The message says one should fill a vehicle’s tank till only half its capacity to avoid igniting the fuel inside due to heat. A senior official from Indian Oil said, “Petrol is volatile and it turns into vapour quickly.
Now that temperatures are high, this process takes place at a faster rate. So it is advisable that people leave around 20 per cent of their petrol tank empty for safe accumulation of vapour.
If the petrol tank is filled to the brim, there’s no space for vapour to accumulate and that could cause an explosion or fire. Even in tanker trucks, which transport petrol, some amount of space is left for the very same purpose.”
