IMD predicts rain in Delhi, moderate drop in mercury on Friday

Delhi on Tuesday logged a maximum temperature of 33.3°C – 4 notches above normal for this time of the year

A western disturbance will likely bring light rain to isolated parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) over a four-day spell starting Friday, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday. The rain spell could continue till March 20, and may bring down temperatures in Delhi-NCR by around 1-2 degrees Celsius (°C), forecasts showed.

The maximum is likely to be around 34°C till Thurdsay. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Delhi on Tuesday logged a maximum temperature of 33.3°C – 4 notches above normal for this time of the year, according to IMD, with the city’s warmest location the Sports Complex station at Akshardham at 35.1°C. The minimum temperature, meanwhile, was 17.5°C – two degrees above normal.

While the maximum is likely to hover around the 34-degree mark on both Wednesday and Thursday, the mercury will likely dip once again to around 33°C by Friday, dropping further by at least another degree by Saturday as light rain hits parts of the Capital, Met officials said.

“We will see the impact of another western disturbance across northwest India from March 16 onwards, which will bring good rain to several places like Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, west Uttar Pradesh and the eastern part of Rajasthan. Activity will commence across the northern plains from March 17 and peak activity is expected between March 17 and 18,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, adding that in Delhi, only scattered light rain is expected in some places.

In its long-range forecast for the March to May period, the IMD had earlier said that temperatures will be higher than normal, with an enhanced probability for the occurrence of heatwaves over many regions of central and northwest India.

To be sure, a maximum of 33.3°C is nowhere near the hottest temperature recorded in the month of March, with that figure generally coming in the latter half of the month, particularly the last week.

Last March, Delhi’s highest maximum for the month was 39.6°C on March 31, while in 2021, the highest maximum in March was 40.1°C (March 30). Delhi’s all-time high for March is 40.6°C, recorded on March 31, 1945.

In terms of air quality, Delhi’s pollution levels remained in the poor zone on Tuesday, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 219, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s national bulletin at 4 pm. This was a slight improvement from Monday’s AQI of 231 (poor).

Forecasts by the Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi, which comes under the ministry of earth sciences, shows that pollution levels could improve to the moderate zone on Wednesday, and will likely remain in this category till Friday.