Another hot day in Delhi, no relief ahead
At the Safdarjung observatory — representational of Delhi’s weather — a maximum temperature of 41.8 degrees Celsius was recorded, two degrees above normal for this time of the year
Mercury remained above normal for a second consecutive day on Saturday in the Capital, with some parts again recording temperature above 43 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meterological Department (IMD), which added that the conditions will prevail for the next two days.
At the Safdarjung observatory — representational of Delhi’s weather — a maximum temperature of 41.8 degrees Celsius was recorded, two degrees above normal for this time of the year.
However, the hottest places were Najafgarh and Pusa — both logging a high of 43.4 degrees Celsius.
IMD said that no relief is expected in the next 48 hours, with the maximum to hover between 42 and 44 degrees Celsius at most places in Delhi-NCR. However, a western disturbance is expected in northwest India from Tuesday onwards, which may lead to isolated places in the Capital receiving a drizzle and the mercury dropping by one to two degrees.
Despite the sudden increase in heat, the city on Saturday was still cooler than Friday, when the maximum temperature shot beyond the 44-degree mark at Najafgarh — making it Delhi’s hottest day of the year so far. Safdarjung also recorded its highest maximum this year at 42.5 degrees Celsius on Friday.
What kept temperature lower than expected on Saturday was a change in wind direction from northwesterly and westerly to easterly, said Met officials. IMD had forecast that it will cross 43 degrees at Safdarjung and 45 degrees elsewhere.
“We will still see clear skies dominating the region over the next two days, with the maximum to remain in a similar range of 42 to 44 degrees,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.
While a western disturbance is already influencing northwest India at the moment, it is only likely to bring gusty winds to the capital late towards Saturday night.
A similar dust storm is expected on Sunday night, Srivastava said.
“There are chances of a dust storm forming on both Saturday and Sunday night, but it will do little to impact the temperature. A second western disturbance from Tuesday onwards, although feeble in nature, may bring a drizzle to isolated places of Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday,” he said.
Even with the possibility of rain, IMD’s seven-day forecast shows Delhi’s maximum is expected to remain over 40 degrees Celsius.
While the maximum dipped in comparison to Friday, Delhi’s minimum temperature rose by around three degrees in the last 24 hours at 22 degrees Celsius on Saturday – three degrees below normal. It was 19.3 degrees Celsius on Friday. Met officials said that the minimum is likely to hover between 22 and 23 degrees Celsius over the next seven days.
Unlike the last two days, May had begun on a relatively cool note for the capital, owing to back-to-back western disturbances. The first 11 days of the month saw a maximum below normal, with Delhi receiving 50.8mm of rainfall. The monthly normal mark is 30.7mm.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air remained in the poor category. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 235 (poor), according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s national bulletin on Saturday, while it was 227 a day earlier. Forecasts, however, show strong surface winds are likely to improve AQI, which will be below 200 (moderate) till Tuesday.
CPCB classifies an AQI between 0-50 as “good”, between 51 and 100 as “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 as “moderate”, between 201 and 300 as “poor”, between 301 and 400 as “very poor” and over 400 as “severe”.