Delhi’s cool weather won’t last, temperature may touch 40°C by next week

According to IMD, the mercury could shoot up by 10 degrees over the next few days and touch 40 degrees Celsius again by Tuesday in Delhi.

It was the second consecutive day of gusty winds and light showers in the national Capital, with the day temperature dropping to less than 30 degrees Celsius. The mercury, however, could shoot up by 10 degrees over the next few days and touch 40 degrees Celsius again by Tuesday, said India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials.

Clouds hover over India Gate, in New Delhi, on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

The maximum temperature on Wednesday was recorded at 29.5 degrees C, seven notches below normal. The minimum temperature too fell by three notches settling at 19 degrees C. Winds blew at a speed of 50-60 kmph across the city.

Delhi has not seen such a drop in the day temperature in the month of April since 2015. On April 5, 2015, the day temperature was recorded at 26 degrees C.

IMD officials said the city is expected to witness light rain and thunder in the first half of Thursday as well after which the conditions will start to get normal.

“The major reason behind fluctuation in weather with the mercury dropping to almost 10 degrees and again shooting up generally happens after the passing of a strong Western Disturbance (WD),” said a senior official from IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre (RWFC).

Last week, the Met had forecast heat wave like conditions in the city after passing of a WD. Delhi had seen a hot and dry day on Monday with the temperature touching 40 degrees C, three notches above the season’s average.

“From Thursday evening the sky is expected to remain clear, which will lead to a rise in both day and night temperatures. Also, the thunder activity was brought by an intense Western Disturbance that had struck the entire northern plains. Once the disturbance passes away from Thursday, the temperature is set to soar again,” said the official.

On Thursday, the maximum temperature is likely to be around 33 degrees C while minimum is expected to settle around 18 degrees C.

The wind and rain that swept across Delhi-NCR also significantly improved the air quality index (AQI) to ‘satisfactory’ category. The AQI was recorded as 84 at 4 pm. The air quality was recorded ‘moderate’ on Tuesday with the AQI of 180.

However, government’s air quality forecast agencies such as Safar, said the air quality could deteriorate slightly in the coming days with the gusty winds bringing in dust.