NEW DELHI: The mercury’s climb continued in the capital, with Monday going into records as the warmest February day in 17 years and temperature trends indicating early advent of summer.The maximum temperature at Safdarjung touched 33.6 degrees Celsius, nine notches above normal and the highest since 2006, when 34.1 degrees was recorded. Last year, the mercury had hit 30 degrees C only in the second week of March.Minimum temperatur already over 13 degree Celsius, warmest Pitampura crosses 35 degree CelsiusWhile Safdarjung reported its highest February temperature in 17 years on Monday, several other spots in the city were even warmer. At 35.1 degrees C, Pitampura was the warmest locality in Delhi, followed by Pusa and Najafgarh at 34.6 degrees C, and the Ridge at 34.2 degrees C. Palam recorded a high of 32.5 degrees C.The minimum temperature soared too. Safdarjung recorded a low of 13.1 degrees C, two notches above normal, against 11.4 degrees C reported a day earlier.According to the met officials, the current warm spell is likely to continue in the coming days, and both the maximum and minimum temperatures may rise further.”Daytime conditions becoming warmer after mid-February is normal, and chances are that temperatures may rise further for three-four days. If at all there’s a drop in the daytime temperatures, it’ll be marginal,” said IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava.He said the warming trend was mainly because no active western disturbance had impacted the region in the past three weeks, among other meteorological factors. “Main reason for the temperature rise is because the region did not receive any western disturbance since February 1. Due to that there has been no cloudiness or rainfall, and the surface has received direct sunlight. The wind speed has also been low, about 4-5 kmph. Besides, the city has been receiving warmer westerly and easterly winds, and not the cold ones from Himalayan region,” Srivastava said.Meanwhile, the city continued to suffer “very poor” air quality. On Monday, the air quality index (AQI), on a scale of 0 to 500, was 324 against 331 a day earlier, both considered very poor.”Fine particles (size less than 2.5 micrometre) contribute about 56% to PM10 pollution. For the next three days, surface wind speeds (calm-to-4 km/h) and temperatures are likely to worsen air quality. Calm or low winds reduce dispersion and are likely to degrade air quality. AQI is likely to deteriorate but stay within the ‘very poor’ category,” a bulletin by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) stated.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/delhis-warmest-february-day-in-17-years-no-respite-soon/articleshow/98106151.cms
