Delhi weather: Brace for summer, temperature to cross 30 degrees this week

Weathermen have predicted maximum and minimum temperatures of 30 and 15 degrees Celsius respectively on Monday. Delhi may have to brace scorching temperatures this week

After bidding a long and tiring adieu to winter in the national capital, it may now be time to welcome summer in the national capital. Delhi may have to brace scorching temperatures this week as weathermen have predicted maximum and minimum temperatures of 30 and 15 degrees Celsius respectively on Monday, and are also expecting the mercury to keep rising during the course of the week.

A boy enjoying in a water pond during the hot weather at India Gate. Temperatures will be scorching this week, says Met department.(Ravi Choudhary/HT Photo)

Though the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast the possibility of some rain on Sunday, Delhi was dry as a bone with temperatures fluctuating between 15.6 and 29.8 degrees Celsius, both a notch below the expected normal temperature.

Read: Delhi weather: How a Mediterranean ‘storm’ led to a chilly Holi in the capital

The normal temperature expected during this time of the year is between 17 and 31 degrees Celsius.

However, India Meteorological Department officials expect the mercury to rise as high as 34 degrees Celsius and not drop below 17 degrees Celsius by Thursday.

“This is just seasonal change. With the advent of summer, there is a general warming trend. We expect the temperature to be recorded at two to four degrees above normal levels in Delhi and neighbouring north western parts of India during the week,” said an IMD official.

The weatherman also said that after peaking on Thursday, temperatures may drop a little and start moving back to normal ranges. The minimum temperature is set to rise further by Saturday, to 18 degrees Celsius, but the maximum temperature will drop to 33 degrees Celsius.

So it might be time to trade those woollens in for lots of water and a good sunscreen to keep you hydrated, and to keep you protected from harmful rays.

Minimum temperatures in March normally fluctuate between 12 and 18 degree Celsius, with the mercury rising as the month moves along.

Read: Grab an umbrella, rain and thunderstorms likely in Delhi today

However, temperatures dropped to 9.4 degrees Celsius on Holi, and further dropped to 9.1 degrees Celsius by Tuesday, a day after the festival. This was way below the expected normal minimum temperature for the time of the year, 15 degrees Celsius.

This is quite uncharacteristic as Delhi has not had temperatures lower than 10 degrees Celsius during March, since 2011, according to the India Meteorological Department records. The lowest temperature that was recorded in Delhi during March was in 1945, when the minimum temperature dropped to 4.4 degrees Celsius on March 6.

Weathermen have blamed western disturbances for the unexpectedly cold days in Delhi. Western disturbances are essentially ‘storms’ that originate in the Mediterranean. They create a pocket of wind and pressure differences, which also changes wind directions influencing temperature levels in northwestern parts of India.