At 35.1 degrees Celsius, Gurgaon records hottest day of year; maximum temperature to rise by 3°C in 5 days

GURGAON: After a rainy and cooler than usual March, mercury rose to 35.1 degrees Celsius on Sunday - the hottest for the season so far - and temperatures are expected to go up to 37-38 degrees C by the end of the week.
The daily maximum temperature has been inching up for the past five days due to dry weather and clear skies.

Daytime temperature on Sunday breached the 35-degree mark for the first time this year, slightly higher than the 33.8 degrees Celsius the day before and a notch above the normal for this time of the year. Before this, the highest maximum temperature for this year was recorded at 34 degrees Celsius on March 29.
Though days have been sunny and warm, nights have been cooler than normal as heat dissipates quickly in the absence of cloud cover, meteorologists said on Sunday. Gurgaon's minimum temperature was 15.9 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season's normal.
Respite from heat is unlikely in the coming days. India Meteorological Department has forecast that temperatures will rise 3-odd degrees Celsius to touch around 37-38 degrees Celsius over the next 4-5 days.
"Weather is likely to remain dry and clear in the next coming days, with no significant western disturbance expected to influence the region. Temperatures won't rise sharply, but gradually. A heat wave is unlikely in the next few days. Strong surface winds speeding 25-35kmph will be witnessed over Haryana from April 11 to 13," an IMD official said.
This year, temperatures rose sharply in February, giving way to predictions of heat wave conditions in March, but the month turned out to be cooler than normal due to spells of rainfall across Delhi-NCR. Gurgaon received 64.5mm of rainfall scattered over two weeks of March, a surplus that was more than five times the month's usual.
The average daily temperature for April so far is 31.9 degrees Celsius.
On April 9 last year, the maximum temperature was 44.5 degrees Celsius. The highest that the mercury went up to that month was 45.9 degrees Celsius on April 30, 2022. The month's average was 42.2 degrees Celsius.
Gurgaon's air quality index remained in the 'moderate' category, with an average 24-hour reading of 166, marginally higher than 164 the previous day.
Meanwhile, Delhi recorded the hottest day of the year with the day temperature at Safdarjung, the city's base station, clocking 34.8 degrees Celsius. However, some stations recorded even higher temperature: the Ridge in north Delhi and Sports Complex near Akshardham both clocked 37 degrees Celsius.
Before this, the hottest day was recorded on March 15 when Safdarjung recorded 33.4 degrees Celsius.
India Meteorological Department data showed that most stations recorded maximum temperature in the range of 35-37 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
The highest maximum temperature recorded in Haryana on Sunday was 37.3 degrees Celsius at Mandkola, Nuh, data by IMD showed.