Delhi records warmest July night in five years

With the minimum temperature of 31 degrees Celsius on Sunday, Delhi recorded the warmest July night in five years, according to the India Meteorological Department. The city had logged a minimum temperature of 31.7 degrees Celsius on July 1, 2021.

The maximum temperature logged at the Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, was 38.3 degrees Celsius, 3.1 notches above the seasonal average, according to the IMD.

The minimum was 3.8 notches above the season’s average. It was also the second instance this month of the minimum temperature touching 31 degrees, after a similar reading was recorded on Friday.

Among the weather stations in Delhi, Palam recorded 37.6 degrees Celsius, Ayanagar 37.2 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 36.7 degrees Celsius and Ridge at 36.6 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature at Lodhi Road was 30 degrees Celsius, Ayanagar 29.4 degrees Celsius, Palam 29 degrees Celsius and Ridge 27.6 degrees Celsius.  No rainfall was recorded at any of the five observatories between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Sunday.

Weather models from both the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and leading international forecasting agencies indicate that rainfall activity will increase significantly over the next several days as multiple weather systems become active simultaneously. The revival is likely to bring down daytime temperatures, improve air quality and ease the persistent humid conditions across the National Capital Region.

The weather department has predicted a generally cloudy sky with moderate rain on Monday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to settle around 36 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius, respectively, the IMD said.

Relative humidity oscillated between 68 per cent at 8.30 am and 50 per cent at 5.30 pm. The air quality was recorded in the ‘moderate’ category at 4 pm, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 169, the Sameer app showed.