Mercury set to rise as western disturbance wanes

Delhi’s maximum temperature on Saturday was 38.9°C, which was a degree below the normal. It was 39°C on Friday, when a strong dust storm, with gusty winds up to 90 kmpm hit the Capital, uprooting trees, damaging property and leading to flight diversions late in the evening. No rain was recorded at any of the weather stations across the city on Sunday.

Delhi on Sunday logged a maximum temperature of 39.8°C, normal for this time of the season, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting a further rise in the temperature due to the waning impact of a western disturbance — bringing a dust storm to the Capital on Friday night — which will cease to influence Delhi after Monday.

Visitors to India Gate on a hot Sunday afternoon cover their heads. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

IMD officials said the maximum temperature will touch 42°C by Friday. They said that although there are chances of cloudiness persisting till Monday, Delhi is unlikely to see much rain.

“There is a possibility of an isolated place recording some drizzle in NCR, but the main impact of the western disturbance, which is primarily impacting the hills, is over. The maximum should hover around 40°C till Tuesday and as the skies become clear, is likely to rise further and reach 42°C by Friday,” an IMD official said.

Delhi’s maximum temperature on Saturday was 38.9°C, which was a degree below the normal. It was 39°C on Friday, when a strong dust storm, with gusty winds up to 90 kmpm hit the Capital, uprooting trees, damaging property and leading to flight diversions late in the evening.

The minimum temperature on the day was 25.8°C, the normal for this time of the year, up from 24.9°C a day earlier. Nights are likely to get warmer too, with the minimum set to be oscillating between 26°C and 27°C till Friday, IMD said.

Delhi’s highest maximum so far this season is 42°C, recorded on May 7. The Capital is yet to record a heatwave day, with frequent western disturbance halting rising mercury level.

Delhi’s air, meanwhile, returned to the “moderate” category on Sunday, recording a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 183 at 4pm on Sunday, an improvement from Saturday’s average AQI of 239 (“poor”) at the same time. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said ozone (O3) was the primary pollutant in Delhi’s air.

Forecasts by the Centre’s Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi said the AQI is likely to stay “moderate” till the end of the week.