The day temperature in the national capital has shot up by nearly 10 degrees in the past one week, giving Delhiites a feel of the approaching summer.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 34.1 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, which was at least three degrees above normal. The day temperature just a week ago -- on March 14 – was recorded at 24.6 degrees Celsius, which was five degrees below normal.

This is for the first time in March this year the day temperature has shot up above normal. The day temperature had been staying below normal all this days since March 1, even though the winter months had ended on February 28.

On Tuesday, the maximum temperature had for the first time this year crossed the 30-degree Celsius mark. The minimum temperature on Wednesday stood at 15.5 degrees Celsius, which was still a degree below normal.

“The winter season has come to an end and now we are in the transition phase before summer sets in. The monthly average temperature in March remains around 30 degrees. All these days we have been receiving western disturbances, which had been keeping the day temperature down. But over the past one week we didn’t get any such disturbance and the sky remained clear on most days. Hence the temperature has shot up,” said a senior official of the regional weather forecasting centre in New Delhi.

The meteorological department has forecast that the day temperature would hover between 33 and 34 degrees Celsius at least over the next one week.

“On Wednesday, a feeble western disturbance hit Delhi and NCR resulting in thunder and light rain in isolated pockets across NCR. Because of this, the day temperature is expected to drop by a degree or two in the next 48 hours. It would, however, start rising again thereafter,” said BP Yadav, deputy director general of IMD said. Even though Delhi didn’t receive any rain on Thursday, NCR pockets, including in Noida, Ghaziabad and Meerut, received some rain.

First Published: Mar 21, 2019 04:20 IST