Change in wind pattern may push mercury up to 40°C today
NEW DELHI: The capital’s maximum temperature is likely to rise to 40 degrees Celsius by Monday, setting a warm start to the coming week, according to officials at the Meteorological Department.
The average maximum temperature for this time of year is around 36 degrees Celsius, officials said. Last year, however, the temperature had risen to 43.2 degrees Celsius by April 21; the highest for the month.
The rise in temperature has been attributed to changing wind pattern in the city by the weathermen. “The rise in temperature will be mainly because the winds are more westerly and north westerly now. Clear skies, with no clouds will also push the temperature up,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, a senior scientist of the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre.
Officials explained that westerly winds are drier and blow over areas like Rajasthan before reaching the national capital, making it warmer. The lack of clouds also mean that the sunlight will not be filtered out, warming up the earth’s surface.
The day temperatures will fluctuate between 39 and 40 degrees Celsius until Thursday, and the morning’s minimum temperature will be between 20-21 degrees Celsius.
On Saturday, the mercury settled at 18.7 degrees Celsius in the morning. It rose to 36.7 degrees Celsius during the day. While the morning temperature was around three degrees lower than the average expected temperature, the day temperature was a notch higher than the normal.