Delhi logs short rain in wee hours, mercury to hit 40°C in two days

Officials said that generally, the temperature crosses the 40°C mark by this time of the year, citing readings of 40.5°C on April 15, 2023, 40°C on April 7, 2022, and 40.2°C on April 14, 2021

Parts of Delhi-NCR recorded short and intense spells of rain early Monday due to a passing western disturbance, which is expected to keep the temperature at normal levels till Tuesday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). From Wednesday, the maximum temperature will start rising and possibly cross 40°C, it said.

A macaque monkey quenches its thirst (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 37.6°C on Monday, which was around normal for this time of the year. It was 36.8°C a day earlier. The minimum temperature was 23°C, down from 24°C a day earlier, also normal.

“We saw a short but intense spell of rain, with thunderclouds passing through several parts of Delhi. Though a drizzle was seen around midnight, the main activity occurred close to 3.30am, with rain being recorded till 6am. No rain was seen after that,” IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava said. He said the rain is likely to maintain Delhi’s maximum temperature around 37-38°C on Tuesday.

According to IMD data, Safdarjung recorded “trace” rainfall in 24 hours till 8.30am of Monday, recording no further rain in the next nine hours. The Ridge station recorded 8.7mm of rainfall till 8.30 am, Jafarpur 2.5mm, Narela 5mm, Mungeshpur 4mm, Pusa 3.5mm, Pitampura 2mm and Mayur Vihar 2mm.

“From Wednesday, we can see a rapid rise in mercury again, as skies will be clear and wind speed will begin to drop too. It could cross 40°C by Thursday,” Srivastava said.

So far, the maximum temperature Delhi has logged is 39.4°C, on April 19.

Officials said that generally, the temperature crosses the 40°C mark by this time of the year, citing readings of 40.5°C on April 15, 2023, 40°C on April 7, 2022, and 40.2°C on April 14, 2021.