Delhi sweltered through its warmest May night in nearly 14 years on Monday, with the minimum temperature settling at 32.4 degrees Celsius, 5.7 degrees above the seasonal norm, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The city last recorded a higher minimum temperature in May on May 26, 2012, when the mercury stood at 32.5 degrees Celsius, IMD data showed.
Delhi had already experienced unusually warm nights earlier this month, with the minimum temperature touching 31.9 degrees Celsius on May 21.
Several weather stations across the Capital reported elevated night temperatures. Palam recorded a minimum of 30.5 degrees Celsius, 3.4 degrees above normal, while Lodi Road logged 30 degrees Celsius, 5 degrees above normal. Ridge recorded 30.6 degrees Celsius, 4.4 degrees above normal, and Ayanagar touched 32 degrees Celsius, 5.3 degrees above the seasonal average.
"Warm night conditions have been recorded at Safdarjung, Lodi Road and Ayanagar," an IMD official said.
According to IMD norms, a warm night is declared when the maximum temperature is 40 degrees Celsius or above and the minimum temperature departure ranges between 4.5 degrees Celsius and 6.4 degrees Celsius above normal.
The weather department has issued a yellow alert for heatwave conditions on Monday, with the day temperature likely to hover around 44 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, mild dust storms swept parts of the city on Sunday evening, worsening air quality levels. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 206 in the ‘poor’ category at 9 am on Monday.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 0 and 50 is categorised as ‘good’, 51–100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 as ‘moderate’, 201–300 as ‘poor’, 301–400 as ‘very poor’, and 401–500 as ‘severe’.
(With inputs from PTI)
