Delhi swelters at 48.3°C ‘real feel’; July to end on wet note

Delhi is expected to experience moderate rain on Monday and Tuesday due to a low-pressure area, with temperatures and humidity remaining high.

July is set to end on a wet note, with moderate showers likely in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday and Tuesday, as a low-pressure area moves closer to the region, meteorological experts said. Though no colour-coded alerts are in place by IMD, light to moderate rain is forecast in Delhi from Monday till Wednesday, before the rain intensity marginally reduces on Thursday as scattered very light rain returns.

Humayun's Tomb on Sunday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

“Delhi could get drenched by monsoon showers on both Monday and Tuesday. This will be due to a low pressure area moving south of Delhi and over northeast Rajasthan,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet Weather, adding that isolated places are also likely to see heavy rainfall. “Heavy to very heavy rain is also likely over northeast Rajasthan and north Madhya Pradesh. Naturally, Delhi will also get its fair share of rain,” Palawat added.

IMD had forecast very light to light rain in the city on Sunday. But no rain was seen in Delhi till 5.30pm, and high humidity and thermal discomfort persisted throughout the day. Delhi’s maximum temperature stood at 37.5°C on Sunday – three degrees above normal, but with relative humidity oscillating between 59% and 87% – the Heat Index (HI) or “real feel” touched 48.3°C at 5.30 pm.

The wet-bulb temperature, another indicator of thermal discomfort, was 29.38°C. Readings above 32°C hinder the body’s ability to cool itself, with 35°C considered the theoretical limit for human survival.

Light to moderate showers in the coming days are likely to push July closer to the long period average (LPA) of 209.7mm. So far, Delhi has recorded 151.3mm this month. Last year, 203.7mm was logged and 384.6mm was seen in 2023. Delhi has mostly seen light to moderate rain this month, with no heavy rainfall spells yet.

It has been a relatively wet summer too, with excess rains seen in both May and June. In fact, May 2025 was the wettest on record, with 186.4mm of rain—far above the normal average of 30.7mm. In June, Delhi recorded 107.1mm of monthly rainfall – an excess of 45% over the LPA of 74.1mm, data showed.

IMD classifies rainfall as “light” when it is up to 15.5mm, “moderate” when it is between 15.6 to 64.4mm and “heavy” when it is over 64.4mm in a 24-hour window.

Delhi’s minimum on Sunday was 28.8°C, two degrees above normal. While the maximum is forecast to be 33-35°C on Monday, the minimum should be between 26°C and 28°C.

Delhi’s air quality continued to remain in the “satisfactory” range, aided by consistent rain this month. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was 85 (satisfactory) on Sunday, as compared to 84 (satisfactory) on Saturday.

Forecasts by the Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi (AQEWS) show more rain is likely to keep AQI in the “satisfactory” range till at least July 30.