NEW DELHI: The national capital experienced its warmest day of the season on Tuesday with the maximum temperature reaching 29.7 degrees celsius. This was 6.3 notches above normal and surpassed Monday and Sunday’s highs of 28 degrees and 27.4 degrees celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The minimum temperature was recorded at 9.8 degrees celsius, which is 0.8 notches below normal for this time of the year.
Humidity levels fluctuated between 42 and 97 per cent during the day.
The IMD has forecast strong surface winds during the daytime and shallow fog for Wednesday, with minimum and maximum temperatures expected to be around 11 and 27 degrees celsius, respectively.
With winter gradually transitioning into spring, meteorologists predict that Delhi’s temperatures could reach 30 degrees celsius by the end of February.
Last year, the highest temperature recorded in February was 29.7 degrees celsius on February 19.
In previous years, Delhi recorded February highs of 33.6 degrees celsius in 2023 (February 21), 28.4 degrees celsius in 2022 (February 19), and 33.2 degrees celsius in 2021 (February 26).
The all-time highest February temperature in Delhi was 34.1 degrees celsius, recorded on February 26, 2006, according to IMD records.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality, which had remained in the ‘moderate’ category for the past few days, deteriorated to the ‘poor’ category on Sunday and continued to remain poor.
The city’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 293 at 4 PM. AQI was recorded at 227 on Sunday, marking a sharp increase from 152 recorded at the same time on Saturday.
The CPCB classifies AQI levels as follows: 0-50 (‘good’), 51-100 (‘satisfactory’), 101-200(‘moderate’), 201-300 (‘poor’), 301-400 (‘very poor’), and above 400 (‘severe’).
