Mercury again rises, reaches 43.6°C, but escapes heatwave; dusty, gusty winds hit at night

Delhi's temperature hit 43.6°C, 3.4°C above normal, with a yellow alert for heatwave conditions. Rain is expected from May 28, bringing cooler weather.

New Delhi: Mercury again rose over the Capital on Sunday and reached 43.6 °C, 3.4°C above normal, against 41.1°C recorded a day earlier, when a brief spell of scattered early morning rain was recorded.

The Met department has forecast possibility of isolated drizzle in parts of the city on Monday. However, it has issued a “yellow alert” for possible heatwave conditions till Wednesday. (HT)

Although the day was hot, there was some relief since it did not reach heatwave conditions.

The highest maximum across the city was 44.6°C, which was recorded at both the Ridge and Ayanagar stations. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast relief from May 28 onwards, with an active western disturbance expected to bring light rain across northwest India, bringing a cooler end to the month.

Meanwhile, Delhi on Sunday night witnessed dusty gusty winds, leading to a haze. However, there was no impact on flights at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

A weatherman said the dust is likely to stay in the upper layers of the atmosphere, likely keeping the temperature over 30°C even at night.

“By 9 and 9:30 pm, dust was detected in Delhi and adjoining regions. There is a haze at Palam, Jaipur, Lucknow and Amritsar,” an IMD official said.

The Met department has forecast possibility of isolated drizzle in parts of the city on Monday. However, it has issued a “yellow alert” for possible heatwave conditions till Wednesday.

The IMD classifies the prevailing heat as a ‘heatwave’ when the maximum temperature is over 40°C, with the departure being 4.5°C or more above normal. It is also a heatwave if the maximum is over 45°C in the plains. Only one station – Lodhi road, met this criteria on Sunday, with the maximum there 43.6°C – 4.8°C above normal. Typically, the IMD requires at least two stations to meet this criteria over two consecutive days.

“While temperature will stay high throughout the day on Monday, there are chances of some isolated drizzle between afternoon and evening. Winds of up to 60 km/hr are also likely during this spell, which may lead to a brief period where temperatures dip,” said an IMD official.

It has been a tale of two halves this month. While the first half remained comparatively cool – with only one day where the maximum temperature was over 40°C as Delhi saw multiple spells of light rain, it has been over 40°C every day since May 16 onwards with a peak of 45.1°C on May 19.

Last May, the highest maximum recorded was 42.3°C, with no heatwave days in the entire month. In 2024, Delhi saw six straight heatwave days with the maximum peaking at 46.8°C on May 30. On the same day, locations like Narela and Mungeshpur had crossed 49°C.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet said while Monday’s spell of rain is likely to be patchy, Delhi and northwest India should end on a cooler note by the end of the month. “The western disturbance from May 28 is fairly active and should bring widespread rain over northwest India. This will lead to a dip in maximum temperature,” he said.

In terms of air quality, Delhi’s air was in the “poor” category with an air quality index (AQI) of 205.