NEW DELHI: Most Delhiites remarked about the unusually warm weather on Tuesday. The city has been seeing temperatures four to nine degrees above normal, caused, according to meteorologists, by a prolonged dry spell in the area. While there has been no rain in the capital in February, there was just one day of intense rain on January 30, when Safdarjung weather station, the city’s base station, logged 20.4mm of precipitation.An analysis of India Meteorological Department’s data of the past 20 years reveals that Delhi also recorded high temperatures in February in 2006, 2017 and 2018 when there was no rainfall in the month.Kuldeep Srivastava, head of India Meteorological Department’s Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said, “The reason for the early onset of summer is because Delhi has received insignificant rainfall in the past two months. The lack of rainfall and the clear skies have led to elevated temperatures.”The maximum temperature at Safdarjung on Tuesday was at 31.4 degrees Celsius, seven degrees above normal. There were hotter recordings at other weather stations, with the 32.7 degrees Celsius at Sports Complex in east Delhi being at the top. The minimum temperature too was five degrees above normal at 16.1 degrees Celsius.On Monday, Safdarjung had recorded a high of 33.6 degrees Celsius, nine degrees above normal, the hottest since 2006 and the third hottest February day in the past 55 years. The IMD records show that the all-time highest maximum temperature in February was logged on February 26, 2006, when the mercury climbed to 34.1 degrees. In the month of February in 2017 and 2018, the highest maximum temperatures recorded were 32.4 degrees and 32 degrees Celsius. There was no rainfall during the month in all the three years.In 2021, the highest maximum temperature in February was 33.2 degrees Celsius. However, two days of light rain were reported in the first five days of the month.IMD says rainfall is unlikely in the remaining days of February. “There has been no rainfall activity in the capital because no active western disturbance has impacted the plains,” said an official.The Met department has predicted the maximum temperature to remain 30 degrees Celsius or above in the next six days. The maximum and minimum temperatures, respectively, are likely to be around 30 and 14 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. However, the day temperature is expected to rise to 33 degrees Celsius on February 26.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/high-dry-why-delhi-is-sweating-over-an-early-summer-this-year/articleshow/98134146.cms