Above normal temperatures, hot winds and clear skies have made life miserable in the national capital Delhi. And for the last few days the city has been observing record breaking temperatures. For instance, the Safdarjung Observatory saw the day temperature settle at 45.5°C on Monday, which is the highest maximum of the season so far. It broke the seasons highest of 44.5°C, observed on May 23. The Palam Observatory also saw the day maximum settle at 46.4°C, which is a new record for the season.
According to the data available with Skymet, the average maximum temperature in Delhi for the month of May, so far has been 40.6°C, which is the third highest in last ten years. Only 2010 and 2013 with average maximum of 41.4°C during May were the hottest.
Making matters worse is poor rains in the city. According to Skymet, Delhi has observed only 3.1 mm of rain so far, against the monthly average of 22 mm. Since the last week of April, rainfall has been scanty in the city. Till May 10, there wasn’t any Western Disturbance observed in the hills of North India, which could have provided some relief from the scorching heat.
But a cyclonic circulation in Rajasthan and adjoining Haryana changed the winds from hot and dry westerlies to comfortable easterlies in North India. Due to the system (cyclonic circulation) some weather activity was observed in Delhi-NCR in form of dust storm and thundershower activity, on May 13 and May 15.
Since then, there hasn’t been any rain in the city and day temperatures have been soaring. Hot and dry westerlies from Rajasthan and Pakistan, where temperatures are beyond 45°C are sweeping entire North India, including Delhi.
In the remaining days of the month, the city is expected to observe similar weather conditions. The day temperature will hover around the 45 degrees Celsius mark, which raises the chances of May 2015 becoming the hottest in last ten years.
Image credit: livemint.com
