IMD forecast show a warmer start to June in Delhi

With Delhi experiencing a cooler than usual summer this year, the weather department has forecast that the temperatures are expected to rise over the weekend and may even cross the 40 degrees Celsius (°C)-mark by next week.

While Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 32.7°C on Thursday, the maximum rose to 34.5°C on Friday — five degrees below normal for this time of the year.

Moreover, Delhi’s air quality also dipped on Friday, falling to “moderate” category from “satisfactory” a day earlier. Air quality is likely to remain in this category over the weekend.

“Delhi’s maximum temperature will continue to rise over the weekend, touching 38°C by Sunday. While we may see a drizzle on Sunday morning and on Tuesday night, the activity will be largely localised and will not bring down the maximum temperature, which could touch 41°C by June 8,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

Also Read: Delhi enjoyed its coolest May in 36 years, says IMD

Srivastava added that the western disturbance influencing the region is expected to weaken by Saturday and any rain is likely to be on account of high moisture in the air. “Since there is still some moisture left behind and temperature is rising further, there will be formation of clouds which would cause localised drizzle,” he said.

Meanwhile, the minimum temperature on Friday stood at 20.8°C, which was six degrees below normal.

On Friday, the Capital received no rain during the day. In the 24-hour period till 8:30am on Friday, 0.2mm of rainfall was recorded, which mostly occurred on Thursday evening, IMD data showed. Humidity levels meanwhile oscillated between 41 and 88% respectively in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, forecast for Saturday showed that the maximum will hover around 37°C, while the minimum will be around 22°C.

In terms of air quality, Delhi’s air returned to the “moderate” category on Friday, with the 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) recorded at 120 (moderate) at 4pm. It was 96 (satisfactory) at 4pm on Thursday. The AQI is forecast to remain in the moderate range till Monday.

The CPCB classifies an AQI between 0-50 as “good”, between 51 and 100 as “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 as “moderate”, between 201 and 300 as “poor”, between 301 and 400 as “very poor” and over 400 as “severe”.