Delhi logs hottest Sept day in 2 years; minimum highest in 6 yrs

The IMD has forecasted marginal relief ahead, with strong easterly winds to provide a cooling effect and also likely to bring scattered drizzle to Delhi-NCR on Tuesday and Wednesday

New Delhi

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 38.1 degrees Celsius (°C) on Sunday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

It was a warm day in the Capital, as Delhi recorded its highest maximum temperature in two years and its highest minimum temperature in six years, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data. However, there is likely to be marginal relief over the next few days, with the IMD predicting cloudy skies on Monday and light and scattered rainfall on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 38.1 degrees Celsius (°C) on Sunday, marking the warmest September day in two years. It was three degrees above the normal. The last time the maximum temperature was higher in September was on September 5, 2023, when Delhi clocked a maximum temperature of 38.6°C.

The minimum temperature on the day was 28.2°C, which was five degrees above the normal and the highest for September in six years. The last time the minimum temperature was higher was in 2019, when a minimum of 28.3°C was recorded on September 9.

The IMD has forecasted marginal relief ahead, with strong easterly winds to provide a cooling effect and also likely to bring scattered drizzle to Delhi-NCR on Tuesday and Wednesday. Weather officials said this is likely to lead to a drop of 4-6°C in the maximum temperature and 3-4°C in the minimum.

“From Monday, we will start to see partly cloudy skies, with chances of scattered drizzle in the city on both Tuesday and Wednesday. The maximum may drop to 32-34°C, providing marginal relief from this heat,” an IMD official said.

The official said that so far, dry westerly winds had been impacting the region, coupled with clear blue skies. “This allows faster surface heating,” the official said.

According to the IMD website, Delhi’s Heat Index (HI) was 44.8°C on the day, due to a combination of high temperature and a relative humidity of 57%.

Despite recording a monsoon that clocked 41% excess rainfall over Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, the monsoon departed on September 24—a day earlier than usual—which was also the quickest withdrawal for Delhi since 2002. Delhi has since then recorded dry weather. Delhi recorded its last spell of rain on September 19.

Overall, it has been a fairly wet year since May, with excess rain recorded every month, including September.

May was the wettest ever on record, logging 186.4mm of rainfall–over six times the normal of 30.7mm. June brought 107.1mm of rain, an excess of 45% over the long-period average (LPA) of 74.1mm. In July, 259.3mm was recorded, 24% above the LPA of 209.7mm. August, then, turned out to be the wettest in 15 years, with 400.1mm of rain, a 72% surplus over the LPA of 233.1mm. September, too, has crossed the LPA, with 136.1mm against a normal of 123.5mm.

The IMD said easterly winds of around 10-15 km/hr were recorded in the city on Sunday. Similar easterly winds of 10-15km/hr are likely on Monday, with these going up to 25km/hr on Tuesday, providing marginal relief. “This will provide a slight cooling effect and also bring moisture,” the IMD official said.

The change in wind direction from dry northwesterly to moist easterly winds has also helped Delhi’s air quality. Typically, when farm fires are raging across Punjab and Haryana, dry northwesterly winds bring pollutants to the Capital. Farm fires have begun to emerge across both Punjab and Haryana since September 15.

On Sunday, Delhi’s air quality remained “moderate”, but improved marginally. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was 139 (“moderate”) at 4pm on Sunday. In comparison, it was 169 (moderate) on Saturday, the city’s highest reading since June 13, when it was 187.

CPCB classifies an AQI of 0 to 50 as good, 51 to 100 as satisfactory, 101-200 as moderate, 201-300 as poor, 301-400 as very poor and 401-500 as severe.

Forecasts by the Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi show the AQI is likely to remain in the ‘moderate’ range till October 1.