Delhi: December turns out to be much warmer than usual

Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD and head of the regional weather forecasting centre in Delhi, says clear skies have led to an increase in maximum temperature over the past week, aided by lack of rain. “We have seen this in October and November too, with high maximum temperatures and low minimum temperature at night. With clear skies, more sunlight penetrates through and days are becoming warmer. Temperatures also drop when rain occurs, but we have not seen a western disturbance this month,” said Srivastava.

Srivastava says relief is, however, around the corner, with an active western disturbance bringing snowfall to the higher parts, while light rain will occur towards Friday evening and also on Saturday. “Very light to light rain will occur on both days and this will bring the maximum temperature back down to normal. It could fall to around 24 degrees Celsius by December 24,” said Srivastava.

The minimum temperature (10.9 degrees Celsius) on Thursday was also two degrees above normal. According to IMD, the maximum could stay around 28 degrees Celsius on Friday, while the minimum could rise further to hover around 12 degrees.

Delhi’s air quality, meanwhile, improved to the ‘poor’ category on Thursday with an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 284, owing to an increase in wind speed and better ventilation. Higher temperatures also facilitate dispersal of pollutants. The AQI on Wednesday was 358 (very poor).