At 32.8°C, Delhi logs year’s highest max temperature

Delhi recorded its highest temperature of the year at 32.8°C on Sunday, with a forecast of more heat and a return to "poor" air quality.

The maximum temperature in the city continued to soar on Sunday and was the highest so far this year. It was recorded at 32.8 degrees Celsius (°C) — four degrees above normal and up from 31.1°C on Saturday.

Visitors at Mandi House circle on Sunday. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Prior to Sunday, the highest maximum was 32.4°C on February 27. According to forecast, clear skies are likely to persist in the Capital till Wednesday, before a western disturbance starts to impact the region, possibly bringing scattered light rain in the city on Holi (Friday).

The maximum is likely to spike further in the coming days, hovering close to 33°C on Monday and 34°C on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast. A marginal drop in temperature is expected from Thursday.

Safdarjung — the base station to measure the temperature — was also the hottest area in the city on Sunday, followed by 32.5°C at west Delhi’s Pitampura. Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet said though no significant rain is expected on Friday, it will still provide marginal relief. “We can expect some scattered rain even towards Thursday night and on Friday morning. Mainly cloudiness will be seen, which will slightly bring down the mercury,” he said.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s minimum temperature was recorded at 13.5°C, a notch below normal. Nights are set to become warmer too, rising to 15-17°C by Tuesday and 16-18°C by Wednesday, the IMD said.

Notably, this was the country’s warmest ever February on record, based on the mean temperature. The IMD has forecast similar weather to continue in the coming months, forecasting above normal temperatures in most parts of the country, barring southern parts of peninsular India and isolated pockets in northeast India.

AQI back to ‘poor’

Delhi’s air quality, meanwhile, deteriorated to the “poor” category on Sunday as wind speed remained relatively low. The average air quality index (AQI) stood at 209 at 4pm on Sunday,as against 158 (moderate) on Saturday. Delhi’s AQI had touched “poor” on Friday after seven straight “moderate” days. This had prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR to invoke Stage-1 measures of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) in NCR with immediate effect.

Forecasts by the Centre’s Early Warning System for Delhi (EWS) for Delhi shows the AQI is likely to remain “poor” till Tuesday and return to “moderate” by Wednesday as wind speeds may rise.