Chandigarh feels the heat as temperature inches towards 30°C

With winter coming to a wrap, the city’s maximum temperature is climbing gradually, going up to 29.9°C on Sunday, the highest so far this year.

With summer season now officially starting in the city, the temperatures will soar further in the coming days, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

IMD considers summer from March to May, while monsoon season then goes on from June to September, before winter’s arrival. This same terminology is used across India.

On Sunday, residents felt the heat as the day temperature rose from Saturday’s 28.6°C to 29.9°C, 3.6 degrees above normal and highest since the start of the year, as per IMD records.

Speaking about the rise in temperature, IMD Chandigarh director Surender Paul said, “Last week, due to snowfall in Himachal Pradesh cold winds had kept temperature on the lower side. But the system has passed now and the wind movement has stopped. Temperature is likely to cross 30°C soon and can go up further to 33°C by the end of the week.”

Paul added that as per the long-range forecast, this month and summer in general was likely to see above normal temperature due to ongoing global weather phenomena. This year, the city is likely to see above normal days with heatwave conditions and further records for maximum temperature are also likely to be broken this time.

Wet Holi on the cards

While the city has not had any rain for about a week, IMD has predicted rain on Friday, which is likely to coincide with the festival of Holi. As per Paul, there is a fresh Western Disturbance (WD), which will start to affect the city around Friday. There is a chance of rain in the city on Friday and Saturday, as per initial forecast.

The system is not likely to be as strong as the last system, which brought rain to the city. However, snowfall in Himachal Pradesh is still expected and can bring a slight relief from the heat in Chandigarh.

The minimum temperature, meanwhile, fell from 12.5°C on Saturday to 10.9°C on Sunday, two degrees below normal. With the approaching WD, this is also expected to rise in the coming days due to cloud cover.

Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will remain between 30°C and 32°C, and the minimum temperature between 14°C and 16°C.