Mercury to touch 38 degrees Celsius on Holi

The temperature in Gurugram is likely to soar in the next two days and touch 38 degrees Celsius by Monday, when Holi will also be celebrated, according to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) weekly forecast

The temperature in Gurugram is likely to soar in the next two days and touch 38 degrees Celsius by Monday, when Holi will also be celebrated, according to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) weekly forecast.

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The maximum temperature on Saturday was 35.9 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was 17.5 degrees Celsius. As per the IMD’s weekly forecast, the maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 36 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively, on Sunday. A clear sky may prevail on Sunday.

An IMD official said, “The temperature will rise by one or two degrees and hover around 38 degrees on Monday but fall again from Tuesday.”

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said, while the temperature is likely to rise till Monday (March 29), it will again dip from March 30 onwards on account of strong winds. “There is a forecast of strong winds on March 30 and March 31,” said Srivastava.

The city’s air quality stayed in the moderate zone on Saturday, recording an air quality index (AQI) of 183 on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily bulletin, deteriorating from Friday’s AQI of 146.

The level of ultrafine particulate matter having a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (PM 2.5), the city’s primary pollutant, was 149.65 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) on Saturday, as per the CPCB’s air quality monitor at Vikas Sadan in sector -11.

According to the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, the air quality over Delhi-NCR is likely to remain in the moderate to the poor category on Sunday and Monday. Subsequently, the air quality is likely to remain in the moderate to poor category over the next five days.