Delhi’s maximum temperature settles two notches below average
New Delhi: A pleasant morning gave way to a sultry afternoon on Monday, with the maximum temperature settling two notches below normal at 37.3 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department said.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 20.8 degrees Celsius, four degrees below the season’s average.
Trace rain was recorded in the early hours of the day. The humidity levels oscillated between 40 per cent and 96 per cent.
The weather office has forecast mainly clear skies for Tuesday with strong surface winds during the day. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 37 degrees and 20 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI) was in the ‘moderate’ category with a reading of 131. The air quality of neighbouring areas Noida (122), Gurugram (164), Faridabad (122), Greater Noida (158) also stood in the ‘moderate’ category. In Ghaziabad, the air quality was in the ‘satisfactory’ zone with a reading of 92.
The air quality is likely to remain in the ‘moderate’ category on Tuesday and Wednesday before deteriorating to ‘poor’ on Thursday.
Meanwhile, paediatric OPDs at many hospitals in Delhi and its neighbouring cities are seeing a rise in footfall of patients suffering from viral fever and prolonged cough, with some doctors saying erratic weather patterns over the last two weeks might have provided a “conducive atmosphere” for spread of viruses.
Many parents said infants are also unable to cope with changing weather conditions.
Delhi has been experiencing cloudy weather and sporadic rainfall for the last 17 days, which is rare during this time of the year. May has been historically the hottest month in Delhi, with a mean maximum temperature of 39.5 degrees Celsius.
Officials attribute this to back-to-back western disturbances, weather systems that originate in the Mediterranean region and bring unseasonal rainfall to northwest India.
Other cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) such as Noida and Ghaziabad have also experienced similar weather patterns over the last several days.
