Delhi: At 32.8 degree Celsius, minimum temperature at a 4-year high

NEW DELHI: There was no respite from the scorching heat through the day and the night on Sunday, with several parts of the city continuing to experience heatwave conditions for the eleventh day in a row even as the minimum temperature at Safdarjung climbed to 32.8 degrees Celsius, the highest recorded in June in the last four years.
Delhiites last experienced a warmer night on June 13, 2018, when the minimum temperature was 34 degrees C. The minimum temperature shooting past 30 degrees, Delhi technically experienced “warm night” conditions on Sunday.
“The warm night phenomenon may continue for another two days. It occurs when minimum temperature is higher than 30 degrees and 4.5 notches above the season’s average. This occurred due to the heatwaves and made both day and night warm,” said RK Jenamani, senior scientist, India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The maximum temperature on Sunday hovered well above 46 degrees Celsius at a few stations in the city.
The areas that suffered heatwaves included Najafgarh, Mungeshpur, Akshardham Sports Complex, Ridge and Pitampura. Najafgarh recorded a maximum temperature of 46.4 degrees Celsius, Mungeshpur 46.2 degrees, Sports Complex 46.7 degrees, Pitampura 45.8 degrees and Ridge 45.8 degrees.
According to IMD, the maximum and minimum temperatures on Monday may hover around 43 and 32 degrees Celsius, respectively.
“Maximum temperatures above 40 degrees will continue till June 15 and isolated heatwaves will be seen till June 13 and 14. A major respite will come on June 16 due to the possibility of formation of clouds and rain,” said Jenamani.
Meanwhile, the air quality remained within the “poor” category. CPCB said the air quality index (AQI) on Sunday was 249 against 256 a day earlier.
“AQI is poor with PM10 as the primary pollutant. Dust contributed around 74% to PM10. For the next three days, peak wind speed is likely to be 24-30 kmph. This will cause moderate dispersion and AQI is likely to be within the poor range,” said a statement from SAFAR.