Delhi’s mercury keeps up climb, now over 35°C

The night was also significantly warmer than it usually is at this time of year. The minimum temperature at Safdarjung on Wednesday was 20.5°C — five notches above normal.

The temperature at Delhi’s base weather station (in Safdarjung) crossed the 35-degree Celsius mark on Wednesday, for the first time this season, with some parts of the some even hotter by a couple of notches.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said these conditions are likely to persist for at least a week, with clear skies and dry conditions possibly keeping the mercury around the 35-37°C mark. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

As the temperature Safdarjung hit a maximum of 35.0°C on Wednesday — four degrees above normal for this time of the year, the Sports Complex station in east Delhi was the city’s hottest spot, with a high of 37.0°C — around six above normal.

The night was also significantly warmer than it usually is at this time of year. The minimum temperature at Safdarjung on Wednesday was 20.5°C — five notches above normal.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said these conditions are likely to persist for at least a week, with clear skies and dry conditions possibly keeping the mercury around the 35-37°C mark.

“Along with the maximum temperature, which has risen by nearly four degrees since Saturday, the minimum has also shot up beyond the 20-degree mark now and nights are also fairly warm at the moment. We can see clear skies until March 22, with no chance of rain, which could have otherwise halted this spike,” said RK Jenamani, IMD scientist.

Delhi on Wednesday recorded strong surface winds, ranging from 20 to 25 km/hr during the day, making it the warmest day of the year so far.

The city has recorded its warmest day of the year consecutively for the last four days.

While the maximum at Safdarjung was 34.7°C on Tuesday, it was 33.0°C on Monday. On Sunday, it was 32.6°C and on Saturday, 31.2°C degrees.

After the Sports Complex stations (37.0°C), Najafgarh (36.6°C) and Pitampura (36.4°C) were the next hottest locations in Delhi in terms of the maximum temperature. The Sports Complex station also saw Delhi’s highest minimum temperature, at 24.0°C.

The weather office’s forecast for Thursday shows that the maximum temperature at Safdarjung could hover around 34°C, while the minimum will be around the 19-degree mark. Meanwhile, the forecast for Holi (Friday) shows a high of 35°C during the day and 20 degrees at night.