Slight drop in mercury in city, further respite in store today

IMD scientist RK Jenamani said that a dust storm was initially forecast to reach Delhi by Wednesday “but it failed to advance as expected”. Met officials said only isolated parts of Delhi saw heatwave conditions on Wednesday, with most stations recording a drop of 1-2 degrees in the last 24 hours.

The impact of a fresh western disturbance led to a slight drop in mercury on Wednesday, with Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, recording a maximum of 41.2 degrees Celsius (°C) – three degrees above normal for this time of the year and 1.4 degrees down from a day ago. A further drop of around 2-3°C is expected by Thursday as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast overcast conditions, accompanied with gusty winds of 20-30 km/hr and isolated drizzle.

Delhi has not received any rain since February 27. (Anil Kumar Maurya/HT)

IMD scientist RK Jenamani said that a dust storm was initially forecast to reach Delhi by Wednesday “but it failed to advance as expected”.

“No rain is expected on Wednesday night and in the early hours of Thursday. Wind speeds may pick up slightly, but the key weather activity is now expected on Thursday evening. There will be drizzle across Delhi,” he said.

Met officials said only isolated parts of Delhi saw heatwave conditions on Wednesday, with most stations recording a drop of 1-2 degrees in the last 24 hours. The IMD classifies it as a heatwave when the maximum temperature is over 40°C and 4.5 degrees above normal. It is a severe heatwave when the temperature is above 40°C and 6.5 degrees above normal.

Delhi has seen eight heatwaves so far this month. “The heatwave criteria was not met at Safdarjung, as the maximum temperature was only three degrees above normal. Only isolated stations recorded heatwave conditions and the same is expected on Thursday,” said Jenamani.

Delhi has not received any rain since February 27.