The average maximum temperature recorded in Delhi this February was the second highest since 1901, officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. (File photo) The average maximum temperature recorded in Delhi this February was the second highest since 1901, officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The average maximum temperature in February was 27.9 degrees Celsius, lower than 29.7 degrees recorded in February 2006 and equivalent to what it was in 1960, IMD data shows.
Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre in Delhi, said the reason behind soaring mercury is fewer Western Disturbances — a weather pattern associated with winter rain and snow in northwest India.
“This February, we had only one Western Disturbance whereas in the same time in previous years there have usually been around six,” he said.
Temperature drops under the influence of a Western Disturbance as cloud cover lowers solar radiation during day time. At night, the presence of clouds hinders radiation from the earth to the atmosphere, which increases the temperature.
However, the average minimum or night time temperature this February — 10.3 degrees Celsius — has been normal, Srivastava said. “This is because the lack of cloud cover helped in higher radiation from the Earth,” he said.
The daytime or maximum temperature has soared in the city, reaching up to 33.2 degrees Celsius on February 26, as per IMD data, highest since at least 2009. The all-time record for the highest maximum temperature in the month is 34.1 degrees Celsius on February 26, 2006.
On Sunday, mercury reached a maximum of 32.3 degrees whereas the minimum was 15.6 degrees. In the coming week, the city may see some respite as day time temperature might fall to 29 degrees Celsius by Tuesday, as per an IMD forecast.
However, after Tuesday, it is expected to rise again to 32 degrees Celsius by March 4.