NEW DELHI: A day after a seasonal haze, Delhi saw the warmest day of the year when the maximum temperature at Safdarjung, the city’s base station, climbed to 36.8 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature on Wednesday was also the highest in the first half of March (before Mar 15) at least since 2011 or at least 15 years.
Light rain likely around March 15
This was eight degrees above the season’s normal.The city also saw four consecutive days of maximum temperatures above 35 degrees till Tuesday, when the temperature recorded was 35.5 degrees Celsius. This was seven degrees above normal. The temperature rose further because of the clear skies and warmer winds on Wednesday.Ayanagar and the Ridge area were the warmest at 37.4 degrees Celsius, followed by Lodhi Road at 37.1 degrees Celsius.Prior to Wednesday, the highest temperature recorded was 35.7 degrees Celsius on March 7. Last year on March 26, the maximum had risen to 38.9 degrees Celsius.The minimum temperature was 17.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, against 18.8 degrees a day earlier.IMD expects the maximum and minimum temperatures would hover around 34-36 degrees and 16-18 degrees Celsius, respectively, on Thursday. “A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India from March 14,” IMD said. This has the chance of bringing very light rain or a drizzle by March 15, and the maximum temperature could drop to about 30-32 degrees Celsius. The air quality remained poor on Wednesday. The air quality index (AQI) was 244, against 265 a day earlier.“The air quality is likely to be in the poor category from March 12-14. In the next six days, the air quality is likely to be moderate, govt’s early warning system said.
