It’s cooler in Delhi, thanks to overcast sky and wind
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that the temperature could drop further on Tuesday as the weather is expected to remain the same — light rain, strong wind and a cloudy sky.
An overcast sky, coupled with wind and light rain in some parts of the city on Monday, helped pull down the maximum temperature by a few degrees and it settled even lower than Sunday’s 36.3 degrees Celsius. At 33.6 degrees Celsius, it was six degrees cooler than what is normal for this time of the year.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that the temperature could drop further on Tuesday as the weather is expected to remain the same — light rain, strong wind and a cloudy sky. The temperature could climb up thereafter, but with another western disturbance approaching, the weatherman is expecting a spell of rain from June 23. Monsoon is expected to hit Delhi in the first week of July.
On Monday, the mercury stood at 33.6 degrees at the Safdarjung observatory, which is taken to be a representative of Delhi’s weather. The observatory recorded traces of rain during the day, while Palam recorded around .4mm of rain.
At Palam, the temperature dropped to 32 degrees Celsius, which was eight degrees below normal. On June 10, Palam had recorded 48 degrees Celsius, which was at least eight degrees above normal at that time. It was the second ever highest temperature in Palam. In May 1998, Palam had recorded 48.4 degrees Celsius in May 26, 1998, the highest ever.
A light rain on Sunday morning had helped reduce the day temperature to less than 40 degrees Celsius in the national capital, after a span of 21 days. It also ended the dry spell under which Delhi had been reeling for more than a month.
“On Tuesday, the maximum temperature is expected to drop further to around 31 degrees Celsius. Light rain and strong winds are also expected,” a senior official of the regional weather forecasting centre in Delhi said.
The present spell of rain is being triggered by a combination of two systems. While moisture laden winds are coming in from the southwest direction, because of cyclone Vayu, a western disturbance is also affecting north India. Together, these two systems are triggering rain.
“But once the systems fade, the temperature would be high for a few days. It is likely to touch 40 degrees by Saturday. From Sunday, another spell of rain is expected because of another western disturbance ,” the official said.