Delhi nights smoulder as minimum temperature hits 9-year high record

The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Wednesday, forecasting one to two spells of light rainfall and gusty winds across the city.

The Capital continued to experience warmer-than-usual nights, with the nighttime or minimum temperature settling at 28.4 degrees Celsius (°C) on Tuesday—4.6°C above normal and a nine-year high for the month of April, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The last time Delhi recorded a higher minimum temperature was on April 22, 2017, when it was 29°C.

Residents from east Delhi's Sunder Nagri, mostly daily wage workers, making a mural about the impacts of extreme heat on workers. (Hindustan Times)

However, the weather took a marked turn during the day, especially post noon, as overcast skies and isolated spells of rainfall ended the spell of post-40°C maximum temperatures the city was recording since last Saturday. The maximum temperature on Tuesday was 39.2°C.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Wednesday, forecasting one to two spells of light rainfall and gusty winds across the city, which are expected to provide a further cooling effect.

Delhi night temperatures

Experts said that the city came within a close range of recording a “warm night” phenomenon, but was relieved by the drop in daytime temperature. IMD classifies a “warm night” as one when the maximum temperature is over 40°C and the minimum is 4.5°C above normal.

On Tuesday, the weather stations at Safdarjung and Ayanagar (29.1°C) met the minimum threshold, but officials said a formal declaration of a “warm night” would only be done if the criteria were met on Wednesday as well. The minimum a day earlier stood at 25°C and is expected to hover between 26°C and 28°C on Wednesday and in the 25-27°C range on Thursday.

A spell of cloud cover on Tuesday pulled daytime temperatures below the 40°C-mark after six consecutive days. The maximum of 39.2°C was near normal and down from 42.3°C on Monday. Parts of the city, including weather stations at Lodhi Road and Palam, recorded “trace” rainfall between 2.30pm and 5.30pm, accompanied by brief gusty winds, data showed.

In its yellow alert for Wednesday, the IMD has forecast very light to light rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds up to 50 km/hr. For Thursday, the IMD has no colour-coded alert in place, but said there were chances of scattered rainfall.

“Maximum temperatures fell by 3-5°C over Delhi on Tuesday and are likely to remain below 40°C till at least Thursday,” an IMD official said.

IMD said that while the maximum may hover between 39°C and 41°C on May 1, it might rise to 40-42°C by May 2, although there is a likelihood of very light rainfall and thunderstorms on May 3 and 4.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality slipped to the “poor” category on Tuesday, with the air quality index (AQI) worsening to a reading of 239 (poor) from 197 (“moderate”) a day before, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB’s) daily bulletin.

The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi (EWS), a forecasting model under the Centre, predicted the air quality to remain in the “moderate” range between Wednesday and Friday.

LG reviews prep

Lieutenant governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Tuesday inspected the integrated command and control centre (ICCC) of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) at Palika Kendra. He reviewed the functioning of the smart governance facility and also assessed the NDMC’s preparedness to tackle heatwave in the national capital.

The LG emphasised that the current extreme weather conditions pose a significant challenge. “All agencies to implement such best practices that they may serve as a model for cities across India.”