New Delhi: The Capital’s minimum temperature dropped below 20°C for the first time this season on Saturday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials attributing the decline to clear night skies. The minimum temperature was recorded at 18.6°C, two degrees below normal, marking the first sub-20°C reading this season. A day earlier, the minimum stood at 20.3°C.
“We have been experiencing clear skies consecutively. When there is no cloud cover at night, the heat from the earth’s surface escapes easily and brings down the temperature,” an IMD official said.
The official added, “Temperatures are expected to stay in the same range for another week. From the third week of October, we might see a gradual decrease.”
IMD has forecast the minimum to increase to 21°C by Monday and then decrease again. IMD has also forecast partly cloudy skies on Sunday and Monday, which will affect the minimum temperature. Meanwhile, the maximum, which was recorded at 34.4°C on Saturday, is expected to stay between 33-34°C. The maximum, however, has gone up by a notch and was clocked at 33.6°C on Friday.
The temperature had also dipped to 21.1°C on September 19, but it had not gone below 20°C. Another dip seen before that in this season was on September 13 and 14, when the minimum had been clocked at 21.4°C and 21.2°C, respectively.
In contrast, last year, the Capital saw a drop below 20°C on October 3, logging a minimum of 18.3°C. Meanwhile, the minimum dropped below 20°C for the first time in 2022 on October 9, which saw the mercury fall to 19.3°C.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president of Skymet, said, “The drop in temperature at the moment is very gradual, as it is happening naturally due to a change in the sun’s position. It will see a sharp dip only when there is a western disturbance that causes snowfall at higher altitudes. Such a western disturbance might approach the Capital in November.”
Delhi’s air, meanwhile, continued to stay in the moderate category. The air quality index (AQI) was clocked at 155 (moderate) at 4pm on Saturday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily national bulletin. The AQI was 141 (moderate) a day before.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remained in the moderate category, with an AQI of 155 recorded on Saturday, slightly worse than Friday’s 141 (moderate). The Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi has forecast the AQI to stay moderate till at least Tuesday.
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