The maximum temperature in Delhi is likely to settle at 42 degrees Celsius Tuesday, two degrees above the 40.6 degrees Celsius recorded a day earlier, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Strong winds of around 25 to 35 kmph are also on the forecast for the day after parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) witnessed strong winds on Monday night.
Meanwhile, the minimum temperature recorded early on Tuesday was 24.9 degrees Celsius, a degree above normal. On Monday, the Sports Complex in East Delhi recorded the highest maximum temperature of 43.1 degrees Celsius for the city, followed by the weather station at Pitampura which recorded a slightly lower maximum temperature of 42.5 degrees Celsius.
At 8.30 am on Tuesday, the temperature was 30.2 degrees Celsius and the relative humidity was 37 per cent.
An IMD forecast issued on Tuesday morning indicates that a gradual rise in maximum temperatures by two to three degrees is likely over most parts of northwest India in the next two days. The maximum temperature in Delhi is set to increase to 43 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and rise further to 44 degrees Celsius from April 28 to May 2. Heatwave conditions are in the forecast for Delhi from April 28 to 30, and May 2.
On Monday, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was 244 in the ‘poor’ category, with PM10 and PM2.5 as the main pollutants. The Air Quality Early Warning System had said in an update on Monday that strong winds favorable for raising dust “are likely over NCR, parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat for the next five days.”
PM10 levels which increased rapidly with strong winds on Monday night, subsided by Tuesday morning. At the Jahangirpuri monitoring station, the PM10 concentration had fallen from 1,663 µg/m3 at 10 pm last night to around 260 µg/m3 at 9 am this morning, according to data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. The monitoring station at Dwarka Sector 8, which witnessed a massive surge in PM10 levels from 201 µg/m3 at 9 pm last night to 2,073 µg/m3 at 10 pm, recorded a fall in PM10 concentration this morning when it stood at 257 µg/m3 m3 at 9 am.
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