Delhi experienced a pleasantly cool Thursday, with the maximum temperature reaching 26.4 degrees Celsius, which is two notches below the normal range, as reported by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
According to the Met Office, Thursday marked the coldest morning in March over the past five years, with the minimum temperature dropping to 8.8 degrees Celsius, significantly lower than the season’s average by five notches.
This Monday saw the minimum temperature at 9.5 degrees Celsius, while on both Tuesday and Wednesday, it fell to 9 degrees Celsius.
Comparing the data with March 2019, the minimum temperature was recorded at 6.8 degrees Celsius on March 1 and 9 degrees on March 7. This March, temperatures have been progressively decreasing.
Kuldeep Srivastava, a scientist and head of the Regional Meteorological Center, noted that Thursday saw an unusually cold morning for March. He mentioned that while last year, the minimum temperature ranged from 10 to 18 degrees Celsius, this year it dropped below 10 degrees Celsius at the beginning of March.
Expected weather for the following days
The weather forecast suggests that the cold spell is expected to persist for the next two days, with temperatures likely to remain below 10 degrees Celsius, accompanied by clear skies. Although no rainfall is predicted, the cold weather is attributed to snowfall in the hills.
Relative humidity levels ranged from 88 percent at 8:30 am to 29 percent at 5:30 pm, according to the IMD’s bulletin.
Looking ahead, Friday is expected to have mainly clear skies, with maximum and minimum temperatures forecasted to be around 27 and 9 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported that the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital stood at 181, categorizing it as “moderate”. AQI ranges indicate: 0-50 as “good”, 51-100 as “satisfactory”, 101-200 as “moderate”, 201-300 as “poor”, 301-400 as “very poor”, and 401-500 as “severe”.