Warmer days likely ahead in Delhi, max temp to hit 30°C: IMD

The India Meteorological Department said the western disturbance will impact Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) on Wednesday

After an unusually chilly start to March, Delhi is likely to see a gradual rise in temperature by 2-3 degrees Celsius (°C) this week, as a western disturbance will approach the region on Wednesday, officials aware of the matter said on Sunday.

Visitors at Kartavya Path on Sunday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT photo)

Read here: Temperatures likely to stay below normal over northwest India till March 15: IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the western disturbance will impact Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) on Wednesday, which will likely lead to gusty winds of 25-35 km/hour and isolated parts of the region will receive light rain.

Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 10°C on Sunday, which was four degrees below normal. The minimum was 10°C on Saturday too, while it was 9.6°C on Friday. Forecasts showed the minimum should rise further in the next 48 hours, and likely to touch 12°C on both Monday and Tuesday, before hovering around 13°C on Wednesday.

Delhi’s maximum has already begun to rise and was recorded at 28.4°C on Sunday, which was around normal for this time of the year. It was 26.9°C on Saturday.

“The western disturbance is expected to impact Delhi-NCR on Wednesday. This will mainly lead to gusty winds, but some places in the region may also record drizzle to light rain. Some cloudiness will return due to the western disturbance and will lead to a further rise in the minimum temperature,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.

He said now that the cold northwesterly winds have stopped, the maximum is rising again. Forecasts showed that Delhi’s maximum will cross 30°C for the first time this year on Tuesday, hovering around the same mark on Wednesday as well.

“The maximum too dropped briefly and this was because of the cold northwesterly winds, the impact of which is now over. With mostly clear skies being prevalent during the day, we are recording ample sunshine. The maximum should only rise further till Wednesday,” he added.

Delhi-NCR last saw a western disturbance on March 2 and 3, which brought light rain to the region. In other parts of the northwest India, including the mountains, fresh snowfall was also recorded. Delhi has been recording unusually low minimum temperature from March 4 onwards, during which it recorded a minimum temperature below 10°C for five consecutive days. The last time Delhi had seen such a streak of five days, when the minimum was lower than 10°C in March, was in 1990, IMD data showed.

In terms of air quality, Delhi’s air remained “moderate”, but deteriorated marginally in the last 24 hours. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 182 (moderate) at 4 pm on Sunday. It was 145 (moderate) at the same time on Saturday.

Read here: IMD forecasts dip in Delhi’s minimum temperature from Monday

Forecasts by the Centre’s Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi showed Delhi’s AQI is likely to touch “poor” by Monday, and will stay in this range till Tuesday.

“Delhi’s air quality is likely to be in the ‘poor’ category from Monday to Tuesday. The air quality is likely to be ‘moderate’ again on Wednesday. The outlook for the subsequent six days shows that the air quality is likely to be in the ‘moderate’ category,” said EWS in its daily bulletin on Sunday.