Delhi experienced a warm and sunny Sunday, with strong winds pushing the city’s air quality back into the “poor” category. The maximum temperature reached 27.4 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal and the highest so far this year, surpassing the 27 degrees C recorded on January 31.
Despite the rising daytime heat, the minimum temperature dropped to 7.8 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, compared to 9 degrees Celsius the previous day.
With winter transitioning into spring, meteorologists predict, according to news agency PTI, that Delhi’s temperature could approach 30 degrees Celsius by the end of February.
Last year, the highest temperature in February was 29.7 degrees Celsius on February 19. Among previous years, February highs were – 33.6 degrees Celsius on February 21, 2023, 28.4 degrees Celsius in 2022 (Feb 19), and 33.2 degrees Celsius in 2021 (Feb 26).
According to IMD records, Delhi’s all-time highest February temperature was 34.1 degrees Celsius, recorded on February 26, 2006.
IMD forecast for Delhi
The regional meteorological centre, New Delhi has predicted smog/shallow fog in the morning, followed by a partly cloudy sky and smog/mist at night for Monday, with maximum and minimum temperatures expected to be around 27°C and 9°C, respectively.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), warm conditions are likely to persist until Tuesday, with the maximum temperature reaching 28 degrees Celsius due to low wind speeds. The forecast until Friday predicts smog/mist in the morning, a mainly clear sky, and occasional strong surface winds at 15-25 kmph during the day.
Delhi air quality
Delhi’s air quality, which had remained in the ‘moderate’ category for two days, deteriorated to ‘poor’ on Sunday as pollutants lingered due to stagnant air. The 24-hour average AQI rose to 227 (‘poor’) at 4 pm, a sharp increase from 152 (‘moderate’) recorded on Saturday. Data from 38 out of 39 monitoring stations indicated PM2.5 as the dominant pollutant across the city.
The Centre’s Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi predicts that air quality will stay in the ‘poor’ category until Tuesday, with a chance of improvement to ‘moderate’ on Wednesday.
The six-day forecast suggests AQI will fluctuate between ‘poor’ and ‘moderate’ in the coming days. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies AQI levels as follows: 0-50 (‘good’), 51-100 (‘satisfactory’), 101-200 (‘moderate’), 201-300 (‘poor’), 301-400 (‘very poor’), and above 400 (‘severe’).
(With PTI inputs)