GOOD WIND SPEED BRINGS DOWN MERCURY IN THE CAPITAL

NEW DELHI: Good wind speed brought temperature in Delhi down by a couple of degrees on Thursday, a day after some parts of the city hit the 40-degree Celsius mark.

On Thursday, the maximum temperature clocked 36.1 degrees, four notches above what is normal this time of the year, while the minimum touched 19.6, two degrees above the average.

According to data released by the India Meteorological Department on Thursday evening, the maximum temperature at Palam was 38.1 degrees, Lodhi Road 35.8 degrees, the Ridge 37.4 degrees and Ayanagar 37.2 degrees.

“On Friday, too, the maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 36 and 19 degrees Celsius respectively. The wind speed on Thursday was 20km-22km per hour, a substantial increase from Wednesday’s 8km-10km per hour winds. This helped in bringing down the temperature a bit,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, a senior scientist with the regional weather forecasting centre in New Delhi.

Day temperature in Delhi touched 38.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday — the second hottest day in March since 2010. In Palam, it was 40.6. In March 31, 2017, the maximum temperature had touched 38.8 degrees Celsius, the hottest March day since 2010. In 2010, the temperature had touched 39.2 degrees on March 22, the hottest day Delhi has witnessed this decade in this month.

At Ayanagar and the Ridge, the day temperature was recorded at 39.2 and 39.9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. “In the next couple of days, the temperature may settle at 35-36 degrees because of moisture-laden easterly winds. After April 3, however, the temperature is expected to rise again,” a Met official said.

Heatwave conditions in the city usually develop in the beginning of May, when the maximum temperature stays above 40 degrees consistently, and goes beyond 45 degrees. Between March and May, the mean temperature in Delhi is expected to be over 1.5 degrees above normal.