NEW DELHI: The mercury climbed further up on Thursday, as the city sizzled at 36.1 degrees Celsius, five notches above the normal mark for this time of the year. This was the first time this season that the temperature crossed the mark of 36 degrees Celsius with some parts of the city being even hotter by a few notches.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials, the maximum temperature at Safdarjung was 36.1 degrees C, five notches above normal. The Pitampura weather station recorded the highest temperature at 37 degrees C.
Senior IMD scientist RK Jenamani said that there may be a slight relief on Friday (Holi), as strong winds are likely to blow over the city, but the mercury is likely to climb up further on Sunday. "The heat is mainly because of clear skies and dry westerly winds. In the absence of any weather system forming, the northwest region including Delhi-NCR has remained majorly dry without any rain for the past 20-21 days," said Jenamani.
He added that it is a natural phenomenon that was seen in 2018 too when there was zero rain days recorded in March. Last year in March, two rainy days were recorded, ten in March 2020, six in 2019 and none in 2018. "At least two-three western disturbances occur by this time of the year, bringing rain and thunder which brings the temperature down. But this has not happened this year," Jenamani said.
Weather officials said that besides the high day temperatures, the nights are also warm with the minimum temperature remaining above normal for the past week. "Also, the discomfort is being felt more as humidity has increased by 10%-20% , which has added to the uneasiness along with high temperatures," said a senior official.