Mercury likely to touch 38°C in Delhi today; very warm Holi on the cards

On Sunday, while the city’s minimum temperature stood at 17.8°C, the maximum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the official marker for the city, rose to 37.3°C

A day after the maximum temperature shot up five notches above normal, Delhi is likely to witness one of the warmest Holi on Monday as per an India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast last week.

People at India Gate on a hot day in New Delhi. (Amal KS/HT PHOTO)

On Sunday, while the city’s minimum temperature stood at 17.8°C, the maximum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the official marker for the city, rose to 37.3°C—five notches above normal. The maximum temperature at Najafgarh rose to 39.2°C—seven notches above normal.

Mercury levels are expected to rise on Monday as well. Maximum temperature is predicted to be at 38°C while minimum temperature is forecast to be at 19°C. Scientists also said because of clearer skies in the entire northwest region, there may be a slight respite from the heat from Tuesday.

“The mercury levels will rise till March 29. It is likely to be one of the warmest Holi that the city has ever seen,” Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, had said Saturday. “There is a forecast of strong winds on March 30 and 31. This will help bring down the temperature again. From Tuesday, the maximum temperature is expected to be around 31-32 degrees Celsius.”

Delhi’s air quality remained in the poor category on Monday morning. Data from Central Pollution Control Board showed that the hourly air quality index (AQI) at 7am stood at 237. On Sunday, the average 24-hour AQI was 233.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

On Sunday, Union ministry of earth science’s air quality monitoring centre, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar) said, “AQI is likely to stay in the ‘poor’ category for the next 48 hours. High winds and better ventilation are forecasted from March 30 onwards. AQI is likely to improve from ‘poor’ to ‘moderate’ category on March 30 and 31.”