NEW DELHI: The capital recorded its warmest day of the year so far on Sunday, with the mercury reaching 34 degrees Celsius. The reading is five notches above normal, and was taken at Safdarjung — city's base station. However, locals will get a slight respite as India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted very light rain for Sunday night or early hours of Monday.
Before this, the warmest day of the year was Thursday, when the maximum temperature settled at 33.9 degrees Celsius. On Sunday, some stations crossed the 34-mark as mercury rose to 35.7 degrees Celsius at Najafgarh, 34.6 degrees Celsius at Jafarpur and 34.4 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar and Pitampura. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature reported on Sunday at Safdarjung was 14.4 degrees Celsius.
According to IMD’s data, the maximum temperature recorded in March in 2020 was 33.3 degrees Celsius on March 26. In 2019, the maximum temperature touched 34 degrees Celsius in the third week of March.
Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD and head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said, “There has been a rising trend in mercury level since February due to lesser number of western disturbances affecting the region. Only one western disturbance impacted the region in February this year, while six impacted the city in February and March last year.”
Met department has predicted very light rain along with thunderstorm in several parts of Delhi on Sunday night or early on Monday, under the influence of a fresh western disturbance. Gusty winds at a speed of 30-40 kmph are also predicted, along with very light rain. Met officials said the day temperature may decrease marginally due to rain and gusty winds. An official said due to strong or gusty winds, the maximum temperature does not rise while minimum temperature does not dip.
IMD forecast says the maximum temperature may drop to 31 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature may rise to 16 degrees Celsius on Monday. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 31-32 degrees Celsius till March 11. “Another western disturbance is expected to influence the plains on March 9. It is predicted that day temperature may rise to 34 degrees Celsius on March 12, when the influence of a western disturbance is over,” said Srivastava.
The city recorded strong winds on Sunday at an average speed of 16 to 18 kmph. Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index was 256 in ‘poor’ category on Sunday.