Rain break is over, mercury may touch 39°C by April 15 in Delhi

Delhi's temperature may rise to 39°C by April 15 after recent rain, with clear skies and strong winds expected. AQI worsens to moderate level.

New Delhi: After two days of rain relief, the city’s temperature is expected to climb back up and likely hit 39°C by April 15, according to the Indian Meteorological Department’s (IMD’s) forecast.

Weather experts attributed the temperature rise to the lack of active western disturbances over the next seven days. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Weather experts attributed the temperature rise to the lack of active western disturbances over the next seven days. However, they added that winds from the western Himalayas are likely to pick up pace, which should keep the rise in check.

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 30.8°C and a minimum of 16.3°C on Wednesday. According to the IMD’s forecast, clear skies will persist for the next seven days, with strong surface winds reaching 20-30kmph during the day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The maximum temperature is likely to increase by 1°C to 2°C each day, and may cross the 36.8°C mark as early as Sunday, the forecast stated.

A similar rise is predicted in the minimum temperature as well, which is likely to reach 21°C to 23°C by April 15.

Mahesh Palawat, vice-president at Skymet Weather, said: “The temperatures have been unusually low for April for the past two days as the western disturbances have been travelling at a lower altitude since March 15, leading to widespread rains across the northern plains. The weather system is now moving eastwards, and we do not foresee any weather activities in the coming days, thus causing a gradual rise in temperature. However, wind speed from the western Himalayas will increase, where there was snowfall and rainfall, which is why the temperature will not see a steep rise.”

The city may cross the highest temperature recorded this year, which was 36.8°C on March 11 and April 2, by April 12.

Last year in April, Delhi saw significantly higher temperatures, reaching 39°C on April 3, and crossing 40°C on April 7. The highest temperature recorded in April 2025 was 41°C on April 8.

Meanwhile, the Capital’s air quality index (AQI) worsened marginally on Thursday. While Wednesday’s 24-hour average at 4pm was recorded at 93, it climbed to 101 on Thursday, within the “moderate” category.

Wednesday marked the first time in 19 days that the city’s AQI average had been recorded in the “satisfactory” category, since March 20 when it was recorded at 93. Showers across the city on Tuesday and Wednesday had lowered the AQI. The centre’s early warning system for Delhi predicted on Thursday that the AQI would be in the Moderate to Poor category for the next 6 days.