Delhi sees muggy day with no rain in sight

Delhi faced intense heat and humidity, with real-feel temperatures peaking at 54.3°C. Thunderstorms are expected Sunday, but temperatures will remain high.

The Capital continued to witness sweltering heat and humidity on Saturday, with a slight fall in the minimum temperature. Forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) mentioned thunderstorms and gusty winds might be observed on Sunday, however, the temperatures are expected to remain in the same range.

A child splashes herself with water on a hot Saturday in the city. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

The heat index of the day (also called the real-feel temperature) was at 54.3°C at 11.30am on Saturday and improved to 51.8°C by 5.30pm, according to data by IMD. It was 51.5°C on Friday and 53-54°C on Thursday.

Real feel temperature of the heat index is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature.

Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 41.8 degrees Celsius (°C), 1.9°C above the normal and up from 41.2°C a day before. Other weather stations also recorded a spike in the maximum — Ridge recorded a rise of 2.6°C, Ayanagar logged 1.6°C higher than the previous day, Lodhi Road and Palam recorded an increase of 1.9°C and 1.4°C, respectively.

The minimum temperature, meanwhile, was recorded at 29.6°C, 1.6°C above normal and down from 31°C on Friday.

Although IMD had issued a yellow alert for Saturday, warning people of both hot and humid conditions as well as very light to light rain, along with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of speed 40-50kmph, no rain was recorded during the day. “Thunderstorms and gusty winds might be observed on Sunday as well. Similar weather conditions are expected to continue throughout the next week, at least till Friday,” an IMD official said.

According to a forecast by IMD, the maximum temperature is expected to be around 39-41°C on Sunday and 36-38°C by Monday. The minimum temperature is expected to hover around 27-29°C on Sunday and 26-28°C on Monday. No alerts have been issued for the following days.

The city’s air quality improved on Saturday but remained in the “moderate” category. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) on Saturday was recorded at 156 (moderate) at 4pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily national bulletin. The AQI was recorded at 187 (moderate) on Friday and 195 (moderate) on Thursday.

According to forecasts by the Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi, the AQI is expected to be in the “moderate” category for the next few days.

“The air quality is likely to be in the moderate category from Sunday to Tuesday. The outlook for the subsequent six days is that the air quality is likely to be in the moderate category,” the AQEWS bulletin said on Saturday evening.