Temperature hits 30.5°C in Delhi, air in ‘poor’ quality

Delhi's temperature hit 30.5°C, five degrees above normal, with forecasts predicting highs of 33°C by Friday amid poor air quality.

New Delhi: Mercury continued to rise in the Capital on Monday, crossing 30°C for the third time this monthas skies remained clear and bright sunshine prevailed in Delhi.

The maximum temperature stood at 30.5°C (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

The maximum temperature stood at 30.5°C — five degrees above the normal for this time of the year and slightly higher than Sunday’s high of 29.7°C and Saturday’s 28.1°C.

An India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said that while a feeble western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region from February 26, no significant impact is expected on Delhi, with the maximum forecast to touch 33°C by Friday.

Meanwhile, the 24-hour average AQI for the capital stood at 228 (poor) on Monday. It was 229 (poor) on Sunday.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, also said the temperature is expected to stay on the rise across the plains as cloud cover or rain are less likely.

“A strong western disturbance is required to control temperatures. While the upcoming western disturbance may bring some rain or snow to the upper Himalayan mountains, we will not see any significant weather event in the plains. Winds may briefly pick up, but the maximum should still rise to 32 or 33°C by the month end and into early March,” Palawat said.

So far, the highest maximum this month has been 31.6°C, recorded on February 16. This was the earliest in four years that the maximum crossed 30°C. The maximum temperature was 30.9°C on February 17 too, before a western disturbance brought overcast skies and patchy rain — leading to a sharp dip in maximum to 21.1°C on February 18.

Meanwhile, IMD data shows that the maximum temperature in February breached 33°C only twice between 2010 and 2025 — 33.6°C in 2023 (February 21) and 33.2°C in 2021 (February 26). The all-time high for the month stands at 34.1°C, recorded on February 26, 2006, according to the data.

Notably, the long-period average (LPA) for the period from February 25 to March 1 is 26.1°C — making a spike to 33°C by February-end a large anomaly.