Delhi braces for 44°C heat before rain brings relief

Delhi's temperatures may soar to 44°C by Wednesday, but relief is expected with rain and winds from a western disturbance starting Thursday.

New Delhi: Delhi is set to get hotter with temperature likely to reach around 44°C by Wednesday due to combination of heat and moisture, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Visitors at Qutub Minar, south Delhi, on Monday. (Hindustan Times)

Relief is expected from Thursday with a fresh western disturbance to bring rain and gusty winds across northwest India.

Delhi’s maximum on Monday stood at 42.2°C, two notches above normal and the highest so far this month. High humidity made conditions feel even hotter. At 2:30 pm, the air temperature was 41.6°C, however, the heat index (HI) or ‘feels like’ temperature was 44.8°C, the IMD data showed.

Forecasts show the maximum temperature is likely to hover between 42-44°C on Tuesday and Wednesday, before dipping below 40°C on Thursday. “A fresh western disturbance will impact northwest India from June 11 and is expected to bring rain,” said an IMD official.

A yellow alert has been issued for June 11 and 12, with light rain and gusty winds up to 60 km/hr likely. Strong surface winds of 20-40 km/hr are also likely on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The season’s highest temperature remains 45.1°C, recorded on May 19. In June, the maximum can often edge close to 45°C. The highest maximum in June last year was 43.9°C on June 12. It was 45.2°C in 2024 (June 17), 41.8°C in 2023 (June 11 and 14) and 44.2°C in 2022 (June 6).

The minimum temperature on Monday was 29.2°C, two degrees above normal. It is expected to hover between 28-30°C on Tuesday and rise by another degree by Wednesday, the IMD said.

Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) remained ‘moderate’ but dipped marginally. The AQI was 151 on Monday, up from 144 a day earlier.