Heat dips a bit, but rise in humidity makes Delhi sweat

NEW DELHI: On Monday, partly cloudy sky is expected while the maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 43 and 30 degree Celsius respectively. Weatherman is expecting thunderstorm and rains in Delhi-NCR region from June 4 to June 6.
Track the pollution level in your city
Temperatures dropped slightly across Delhi-NCR on Sunday but humidity levels have risen sharply over the weekend, making the heat more oppressive for residents but also raising the chance of thundershowers in the region over the next few days.

Humidity levels have nearly doubled since Friday due to a change in wind direction. Moist easterly winds started sweeping into the region Saturday onwards, replacing the dry westerly “loo” winds that were raising temperatures in north India.
“Due to easterly winds, temperatures in the city have reduced by 1-2 degrees and humidity has risen. The incursion of moisture coming in from Bay of Bengal also raises the probability of thunderstorms. We expect isolated thunder and rain events in Delhi-NCR and surrounding regions from Sunday night, particularly between June 4 and 6,” said B P Yadav, head of IMD’s Regional Meteorological Centre here.
The maximum temperature at Safdarjung on Sunday was 42.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal but a degree lower than Saturday’s maximum. The minimum, however, crossed 30 degrees C perhaps for the first time this year to settle at 30.8 degrees C, three notches above normal.
Gurgaon too recorded a lower maximum of 42.8 degrees C but heatwave continued in some cities in Uttar Pradesh. Jhansi sizzled at 47.1 degrees C on Sunday while Agra recorded 45.6 degrees.
“Heatwave conditions are likely to return on June 8, once the easterly flow ebbs,” Yadav said.
The maximum temperature dropped in other stations in Delhi as well. Palam recorded 44.6 degrees C, down from 46.1 on Saturday. The maximum temperature at Ayanagar was 44 degrees, two notches down from the previous day, while Jafarpur clocked 44.5 degrees, down from 45.7.
On Monday, partly cloudy sky is expected while the maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 43 and 30 degree Celsius respectively.
Easterly winds in north India are a feature of the monsoon. The frequency of these flows usually increases through June, as the monsoon comes closer. Once the monsoon arrives over the region, easterly winds predominate.
In terms of air quality, Delhi had a poor day on Saturday as the air quality index reached 201. According to SAFAR, the overall air quality in Delhi is in the “poor” category with ozone as the lead pollutant, only few notches away from entering very poor category.
“PM2.5 is at number 3 in lead. It is the first time this year that ozone AQI (8-hour sunlit average) is touching the poor range. The massive production of ozone triggered due to high temperature… Ozone is predicted to remain in poor range for the next two days as the lead pollutant not only in Delhi but in entire north west urban belt,” a SAFAR report stated on Sunday.