Delhi weather: Previous years saw February highs of 33.6 degrees Celsius in 2023 (February 21), 28.4 Celsius in 2022 (February 19), and 33.2 degrees Celsius in 2021 (February 26).
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that warm conditions will persist until Tuesday, with the maximum temperature likely to reach 27 degrees Celsius, as wind speeds remain low. It will be a warm and sunny day in the national capital on Monday with a decrease in wind speed pushing Delhi’s air quality back into the ‘poor’ category. Despite the rise in daytime temperatures, the minimum temperature dipped to 7.8 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal for this time of the year. It was 9 degrees Celsius a day earlier. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 27.4 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal and the highest so far this year, surpassing the 27 degrees Celsius recorded on January 31.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality, which had remained in the ‘moderate’ category for the past two days, slipped back into the ‘poor’ category with 317 AQI on Monday as pollutants lingered in the stagnant air. The city’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 227 (‘poor’) at 4 pm, a significant jump from 152 (‘moderate’) recorded at the same time on Saturday. Data from 38 out of 39 air quality monitoring stations showed that PM2.5 was the dominant pollutant across the city. Forecasts from the Centre’s Early Warning System for Delhi (EWS) indicate that air quality will remain in the ‘poor’ range until Tuesday, with a likelihood of improvement to ‘moderate’ on Wednesday.
The longer six-day forecast suggests that AQI will fluctuate between ‘poor’ and ‘moderate’ in the coming days. The Central Pollution Control Board (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’). With winter gradually transitioning into spring, temperatures in Delhi could approach 30 degrees Celsius by the end of February, according to meteorologists. Last year, the highest temperature recorded in February was 29.7 degrees Celsius on February 19. The all-time highest February temperature in Delhi was 34.1 degrees Celsius, recorded on February 26, 2006, according to IMD records.
