Delhi logs hottest day of May, but mercury still below normal

Delhi recorded its hottest day of May at 39°C, with light rainfall expected until Wednesday. Temperatures may rise to 42°C by Sunday. AQI worsens to 170.

New Delhi

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said there are chances of a spell of light rainfall in Delhi-NCR until Wednesday, before the western disturbance weakens and the temperature starts rising again. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

The Capital recorded its warmest day of the month on Tuesday, clocking a maximum temperature of 39 degrees Celsius (°C). It was still a degree below normal as a prevailing western disturbance kept the temperature in check.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said there are chances of a spell of light rainfall in Delhi-NCR until Wednesday, before the western disturbance weakens and the temperature starts rising again. It may touch 40°C by Thursday, 41°C by Friday and possibly 42°C by Sunday, it said.

“The western disturbance has brought rain across parts of northwest India, but has so far eluded Delhi. There remains a chance until Wednesday for some rainfall, before it fades,” an IMD official said.

Prior to Tuesday, the highest maximum in May this year was 38.6°C, recorded on May 2. On most days, mercury has remained below the normal this month, largely due to consistent spells of rainfall.

So far this month, Delhi has recorded 10.9mm in rainfall, against a long period average (LPA) of 7.6mm for the first 12 days.

“This western disturbance has been fairly feeble over parts of northwest India so far, including Delhi-NCR. On Tuesday, we saw some rainfall in Rajasthan, but again, it skipped Delhi,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, adding while a chance remains of some patchy rain till Wednesday, a further rise in temperature is expected ahead.

The minimum temperature on Tuesday, meanwhile, was 27.6°C, which was two degrees above normal. The minimum is likely to oscillate between 26 and 28°C till the weekend.

Delhi’s air quality index stayed “moderate” but deteriorated on Tuesday. The air quality index (AQI) stood at 170, worse than 131 recorded a day earlier, as per the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily bulletin. Forecasts by the Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi have predicted a “moderate” AQI until Friday.