Delhi records hottest day of season, mercury at 36.8 degrees Celsius
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that the mercury will continue to rise this week, and may touch the 40-degree mark by April 16
The Capital on Tuesday logged its hottest day of the year, with the maximum temperature rising to 36.8 degrees Celsius (°C), India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said, predicting that the mercury will continue to rise this week, and may touch the 40-degree mark by April 16.
The 36.8°C recorded on Tuesday was at the Safdarjung weather station, which provides the representational data for Delhi. However, other stations in the Capital logged even higher temperatures, with Sports Complex near Akshardham the warmest spot in the city at 39°C, followed by Pitampura (38.8°C) and Najafgarh (38.6°C), IMD data showed.
Normally, stations on the outskirts of Delhi, are 2-3 degrees warmer than Safdarjung.
In terms of the minimum temperature, Delhi recorded a low of 16.6°C, which is four degrees below normal for this time of the year. This too is forecast to rise by another 2-3 degrees by Sunday.
Tuesday’s temperatures were slightly higher than the maximum and minimum of 34.9°C and 15.7°C, respectively, logged on Monday.
However, these temperatures are much lower than those recorded last year owing to the rainfall the city witnessed towards the end of March and beginning of April — last year, the city had recorded a maximum of 42.6°C on April 11.
“With no western disturbance in sight, we are now seeing clear skies in the region. In the absence of any moisture in the air, or any cloud cover, surface heating is increasing and the maximum is likely to rise further in the coming days,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD, noting that back-to-back western disturbances towards the end of March and early April had so far prevented the maximum from rising significantly.
In terms of pollution, Delhi’s air returned to the poor zone, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 260 as per Central Pollution Control Board’s national bulletin, a significant deterioration from Monday’s reading of 195 (moderate). Forecasts show an improvement in the AQI is not expected in the coming days.
“Delhi’s AQI is likely to remain in the poor category from April 12 till 14, owing to strong dust-raising winds. The outlook for the subsequent six days shows that it will oscillate between moderate and poor,” said the Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi — a forecasting model under the ministry of earth sciences.
