Delhi’s sees late October in June

Delhi is on a cold streak. The already unusually cool weather became even cooler on Tuesday when, at 26.9 degrees Celsius, the maximum temperature read like the minimum. June felt like late October on Tuesday.

Delhi is on a cold streak. The already unusually cool weather became even cooler on Tuesday when, at 26.9 degrees Celsius, the maximum temperature read like the minimum. June felt like late October on Tuesday.

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Delhi has seldom seen such low maximum temperatures in June, the weatherman said. If it were 41 degrees Celsius, it would have been considered normal. Instead, the mercury plunged a whopping 14-degrees.

In Delhi, the “coolest” maximum temperature was in the 1950s when it fell to 22.6 degrees Celsius, Met sources said. At the Safdarjung observatory, this was the second-lowest maximum since 1969, after 25.7 degrees Celsius on June 8, 2000.

“This was the lowest in recent years,” said the duty officer at the observatory.

The wind, blowing at around 30 km per hour, was responsible for this chill, which forced Delhiites to turn off their airconditioners and coolers. This day last year, for instance, Delhi burned at 41.5 degrees Celsius.

Going by the average maximum temperatures, June this year has been three degrees cooler. And it has also been a couple of degrees colder than June’s all-time average of daily maximum temperatures.

The wind and the clouds were the chief factors behind this unexpected gift from the gods. Cyclone Phet, which cooled down a searing Rajasthan and the nearby region, pushed a mass of clouds towards Delhi.

The bad news, however, is that the chill is on the wane. “The various reasons which brought these cloudy and chilly days are going to stay only till Wednesday, after which the sky will be clear and the mercury will rise again,” said R.C.

Vashisht, Director, Safdarjung observatory. Wednesday onwards the maximum temperature will be around 37-39 degrees Celsius, he said.

But Delhiites made the most of the weather while it lasted. India Gate was a riot of colours, choc-a-bloc with visitors and sundry vendors.

April this year was the hottest, while May was hotter than last year. With the monsoon rains expected to arrive on time, the Delhi summer could well be heading to an early finish.