Delhi records coolest May in 36 years, says IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said that Delhi recorded its coldest May in 36 years with an average maximum temperature of 36.8 degrees Celsius, which was 3.1 degrees below the normal average. Kuldeep Srivastava, IMD's head of the regional forecasting center, said the national capital recorded an average maximum temperature of 36 degrees Celsius in May 1987, according to PTI.

The weather department further informed that May witnessed 11 wet days this year, contributing to low temperatures for a total of 22 days. The month reportedly received 111 mm of rainfall this time, 262% more than the long-term average of 30.7 mm. This made it the fourth wettest May in 33 years. The other three were in 2021, 2008, and 2002.

The IMD added that maximum temperatures in Delhi exceeded the 40-degree mark for only nine days in May this year. Moreover, heatwave conditions affected some parts of the national capital for two days, but the Safdarjung Observatory, the city's base station, didn't experience any heatwave days during the month. "This has happened for the first time since 2014," Srivastava said.

Srivastava said that higher-than-usual western disturbances were behind this year's excessive rainfall and below-normal temperatures. "Usually, five to six western disturbances are recorded in the northern plains in April and May. This time, we saw 10 western disturbances, mostly strong ones." "This is unusual. However, we cannot link it to climate change in the absence of data. There is no definite trend," he added.