Delhi woke up to light rain on Wednesday (February 18), a sharp turnaround in conditions a day after the capital recorded its first February temperature of 30C in five years.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said light rainfall or drizzle is “highly likely” in Delhi and the National Capital Region, while scattered showers are expected to spread to parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan in the next few hours. The Bureau of Meteorology also predicted gusty winds of 30 to 40 km/h in the afternoon.
The IMD said light rainfall was also very likely over parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan including Sonipat, Kharkhoda, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Farukhnagar, Kosali, Mahendargarh, Sohana, Rewari, Palwal, Narnaul, Bawal, Nuh and Haryana in Aurangabad Bagpat, Khekra, Modinagar and Pilakhua in Uttar Pradesh; and Bhiwari, Tizara, Khairthal, Alwar, Viratnagar, Nagar, Laxmangarh and Rajgarh in Rajasthan. He added that very light rainfall or drizzle was likely at Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Narwana, Karnal, Fatehabad, Assandh, Safidon, Barwala, Jind, Panipat, Adampur, Gohana, Gannaur, Hansi, Tosham and Rohtak in Haryana; Shamli, Kandhla, Khatauli, Sakoti Tanda, Hastinapur, Baraut, Daurala, Meerut, Kithor, Garhmukteshwar, Hapur, Gulaoti, Siyana, Sikandrabad, Bulandshahar, Khurja, Jattari, Nandgaon and Barsana in Uttar Pradesh; and Kotputli and Deeg in Rajasthan.
The showers follow an unseasonably warm spell that pushed temperatures well above the seasonal norm. Delhi recorded a maximum of 31.6 degrees Celsius on Monday – the hottest day of the year so far – around seven degrees above the average. The data indicated that it was the first time the mercury crossed 30°C in February since 2021, when the city touched 30.4°C on February 11.
The capital remained unseasonably warm on Tuesday, with the maximum temperature settling at 30.9 degrees Celsius, about 6.5 degrees above the seasonal average, according to the IMD.
Readings from the stations showed that Ayanagar recorded the highest minimum temperature of 13.8°C, while Safdarjung — Delhi’s main observatory — recorded 12.4°C. Palam recorded a minimum of 15.3°C, followed by Lodhi Road at 12.6°C and Ridge at 12.2°C.
Safdarjung also recorded the highest maximum temperature of 30.9°C, followed by Ayanagar at 29.9°C and Palam at 29.1°C. Lodhi Road recorded a maximum of 29.2°C while the ridge touched 29.4°C.
On Wednesday, the IMD predicts a cooler day, with maximum and minimum temperatures hovering around 27°C and 14°C, respectively.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category on Tuesday. The Central Pollution Control Board recorded the city’s average air quality index at 249. According to CPCB standards, an AQI between 201 and 300 is classified as “poor”.