Mercury rises by nearly 7°C in a week in Delhi: IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said mercury will hover around the 36-degree mark for the next two days, before touching 37°C on Sunday.

The Capital recorded its sixth consecutive “warmest day of the year” as mercury breached the 36-degree-mark and settled at 36.1°C -- five degrees above normal for this time of the year -- on Thursday.

IMD’s seven-day forecast shows no rain is expected in Delhi till at least March 23, with the minimum temperature hovering between 18 and 21 degrees during this period. (Amal KS/HT Photo)

With this, the maximum temperature rose by nearly seven degrees over the last six days -- it was 35°C on Wednesday, 34.7°C on Tuesday, 33°C on Monday, 32.6°C on Sunday, 31.2°C on Saturday and 29.6°C on Friday. The minimum temperature settled at 19.9°C – three notches above normal and a slight drop from 20.5°C on Wednesday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said mercury will hover around the 36-degree mark for the next two days, before touching 37°C on Sunday.

Pitampura was Delhi’s warmest location on Thursday, recording a maximum temperature of 37°C, followed by Najafgarh at 36.5°C.

“Both the day and night-time temperatures are currently well above normal. This is largely due to lack of rainfall in March. Generally by this time around, we do see one or two spells of rainfall, but this has not happened so far this year in March. In comparison, February and January recorded above average rainfall,” said IMD scientist RK Jenamani. The average rainfall for March is 15.9mm.

IMD’s seven-day forecast shows no rain is expected in Delhi till at least March 23, with the minimum temperature hovering between 18 and 21 degrees during this period. It will be highest on Holi day, when it will reach 21°C. The maximum meanwhile will oscillate between 35°C and 37°C until March 23.

Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) remained in the “poor” category with a reading of 218 on Thursday, the same as from a day before, as per Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily 4pm bulletin.

According to IMD data from 1981 to 2010, the average normal mark for this time of the year is between 30°C and 32°C. Delhi also recorded high relative humidity levels on Thursday, oscillating between 36% and 87% in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s overall air quality index (AQI) remained in the “poor” category with a reading of 218 on Thursday, the same as from a day before, as per Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily 4pm bulletin. The AQI was 253 (poor) on Tuesday.

Air monitoring agencies have predicted that the AQI will remain in the “poor” category in the next three days as well, owing to no change in meteorological conditions -- clear skies and wind speeds up to 10km/hr -- over Delhi.