Delhi experienced a sense of relief after days of severe heatwave when the minimum temperature dropped by 6 degrees Celsius. Delhi recorded its highest minimum temperature at 35.2 degrees Celsius, since 1969.
After that, a night of gusty winds and isolated rain since Wednesday lowered the temperature by 6 degrees. On Thursday morning, a minimum temperature of 29.6 degrees Celsius was recorded around Safdarjung station. IMD is forecasting another spell of light rains around Delhi, on Thursday.
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Windspeed to be at 52km/hr – IMD
The sharp dip in temperature was due to an approaching western disturbance, which led to gusty winds up to 52km/hr and rains in some parts of Delhi in the late hours of Wednesday and early hours of Thursday, IMD said. Pitampura, Mayur Vihar, and Ujwa recorded a maximum windspeed of 52km/hr.
“The last few nights have been extremely warm, as the temperature has dropped fairly gradually and starts to rise again by sunrise. This spell of gusty winds and isolated rain has provided a cooling effect to the region,” the official added.
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Delhi witnessed its warmest night
IMD specifies a heatwave when the temperature crosses over 40 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature was 43.6°C on Thursday, 4.8 degrees above normal. However, forecasts predict Delhi’s maximum to drop down to 40°C on Thursday.
This relief was showered after recording Delhi’s warmest night in 55 years, a day before. 35.2 degrees Celsius was the warmest night ever in Delhi, across all months in the period 1969-2024, the IMD said. The second highest was 34.9°C on May 23, 1972.
Delhi AQI dropped to ‘poor’ from ‘very poor’
Amidst this relief, Delhi also recorded a slight improvement in its Air Quality Index. On Wednesday, Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) was 306 (very poor) at 4 pm which dropped down to 214 (poor) at 9 am on Thursday.
About the Author
Ms Anuja Choudhary is a public policy enthusiast and Masters in Philosophy from LSR, DU. With a keen eye for authenticity, she is currently honing her craft as a writer to pen down the voices with utmost sincerity and integrity.
