Delhi feels the heat: Warmest March in 8 years

NEW DELHI: Day temperatures in the capital have remained the highest in years for the third month in a row, with March setting an eight-year heat record as rains continued to remain elusive in the region.
The average maximum temperature during the month was 3.3 degrees Celsius higher than normal. Higher-than-normal day temperatures prevailed on 30 out of 31 days during the month while the normal minimums were breached on 26 days.

The data comes on the back of high day temperatures seen in January and February this year. Both months were the warmest seen in the capital in 12 years. With this, all three months of the year have been unusually warm in Delhi. With IMD forecasting a sizzling summer ahead for the region, heat records could well keep tumbling.

Another trend that continued from the previous months was below-normal rainfall. March saw zero rain for the first time since 2010 (although trace rain was recorded on March 21).

"The warm days were a result of lack of moisture and practically no clouds during the period. An anti-cyclonic wind pattern set in during the last week that further ramped up temperatures," said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD's Regional Weather Forecasting Centre.

The average maximum temperature of 32.9 degrees Celsius during March this year the month was the highest since 2010, when it had reached 33.8 degrees C. Data since 1992 reveal that maximum temperatures in March have been steadily rising, a trend that could be linked to global warming. Clear sky conditions during March also meant that nights remained cooler than normal.

“Surface heat gets quickly dispersed into the atmosphere under cloudless conditions, leading to cool nights,” said Srivastava.

Delhi normally gets around 16mm of rainfall during March. In 2015, the city received 97.2mm of rain which was the highest ever for the month. Lack of rain during March this year also follows the trend of the past three months, with the entire northern region facing a massive rain and snowfall deficit for the period.

Delhi is among the states where IMD has forecast a hot summer (April to June) with average temperatures more than 1.3 degrees C higher than normal. This also indicates that the region may get less than average rains during this period.