Rain next week may bring relief from ‘unusually’ hot March: Met
TUESDAY WAS THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE SEASON SO FAR
NEW DELHI: There will be no rain relief for Delhi this weekend as the MET department has forecast clear sky. However, a thundery development next week can bring some welcome shower.
According to a MET official, the next few days will remain clear and dry but there is a possibility of rain on March 22.
“A thundery development, which can even be a thunderstorm, is expected on March 22 morning. This is because of a possible western disturbance,” he said.
Tuesday was the hottest day of the season in Delhi so far, with the maximum temperature during the day shooting up to 36.2 degrees Celsius, seven degrees higher than what is considered normal during this time of the year.
Scientists at the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC) in New Delhi said that such high day temperatures are usually encountered in the second half of March or towards the end of the month, HT had reported.
On Friday, the maximum temperature was 31.2 degree and the minimum 16.8, both a degree above what is normal this time of the year.
“On Saturday, clear sky is expected with mist in the morning. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 31 and 17 degree Celsius respectively,” the official said, adding that the temperature will remain 31-32 in the next few days.
In 2017, the hottest day in March was recorded on the last day of the month when the mercury touched 38.8 degrees Celsius. The day temperature on March 22, 2010, shot up to 39.2 degrees, which was the hottest day recorded in March this decade. The highest ever temperature recoded in March was in 1945, when the mercury touched 40.6 degrees. This was also at the end of the month — on March 31.
The rising mercury level seems to be in tune with the Indian Meteorological Department’s warning that the seasonal average temperature between March and May could be more than one degree above normal in several parts of northwest and central India.
In terms of pollution, the air quality was “poor” on Friday as the air quality index reached 244. AQI is calculated on a scale of 0-500. An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.
According to the CPCB realtime monitoring, at 6am on Friday, the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were 89.6ug/m3 and 254ug/m3 respectively. The particulate matters kept marginally increasing throughout the day and at 6pm the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were 122.5ug/m3 and 282.2ug/m3. Both PM10 and PM2.5 are ultrafine particles, the dominant pollutants in Delhi. The acceptable levels of PM10 and PM 2.5 are 100μg/m3 and 60μg/ m3, respectively.