Mercury may touch 44-46 degrees by April 28 in Delhi, says IMD

In terms of minimum temperature, Delhi recorded a low of 22.2°C, one degree below normal, on Sunday. This is expected to touch 23°C by Monday and rise to 24°C by Thursday, the IMD said.

Stepping out of home on April 27 and 28 may be best avoided unless essential, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting that the maximum temperature could touch 43-44 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, the base station for Delhi’s weather, while it could be between 45-46 degrees in other parts of the national capital. There may be some relief in store from April 28 onwards, the IMD said, from the impact of a western disturbance (WD) expected across north-west India.

New Delhi, India - April 24, 2022: Pedestrians on a hot summer day at Connaught Place in New Delhi, India, on Sunday, April 24, 2022. (Photo by Amal KS/Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Safdarjung recorded a maximum temperature of 39.5°C on Sunday, two degrees above normal and the same as the maximum on Saturday. Delhi’s hottest location on Sunday was the Yamuna Sports Complex station in east Delhi, which recorded a maximum temperature of 42.0°C.

In terms of minimum temperature, Delhi recorded a low of 22.2°C, one degree below normal, on Sunday. This is expected to touch 23°C by Monday and rise to 24°C by Thursday, the IMD said.

RK Jenamani, senior scientist at IMD, said the region is expected to see two WDs till the end of the month. The first is likely to cause cloudy skies in parts of Delhi on Monday, however, the maximum temperature could still rise to around 41°C at Safdarjung and about 43°C in other parts of the capital, owing to the warm westerly winds.

“Mercury could rise to 42°C by Tuesday at Safdarjung and 43°C by Wednesday . By Thursday, it will be around 44°C in Safdarjung while the other parts of Delhi will be hotter by 1-2 degrees,” said Jenamani, adding that the impact of the next WD, which is expected from April 28, was not yet known.

The IMD describes western disturbance as an extratropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region, that brings sudden rain to the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent. A non-monsoonal precipitation pattern, this disturbance is driven by the westerly winds, according to the department.

“If it progresses towards Delhi and leads to cloudiness, then the mercury could fall. However, if it is a weak western disturbance, then it will do little to halt this rise in temperature,” the scientist said.

The highest maximum temperature recorded so far this year at Safdarjung has been 42.6°C, on April 11 and April 19, making these the hottest days in the past five years since April 21, 2017, when the mercury touched 43.2°C. This April may also be the warmest in at least a decade, the IMD data shows, with the all-time temperature high for the month being 45.6°C, recorded on April 29, 1941.

Delhi has already recorded eight heatwave days -- when the maximum temperature is over 40 degrees and also 4.5 degrees higher then the normal mark -- so far this month. Delhi recorded six such days in 2017, while it was 11 in 2010.

.