Just as predicted, monsoon in Delhi has taken a long break and temperatures have risen sharply in the last 48 hours. From 31⁰C on 17th June, the maximum temperature rose to 36⁰C yesterday. Whereas today, the maximum temperature in the capital is expected to touch 38⁰C. “Due to absence of any system in north India and the direct flow of hot and dry northwesterly winds, the mercury in Delhi may touch 40⁰C day after tomorrow”, says Mahesh Palawat, weather forecaster at Skymet Weather.
But Delhi is not facing this hot weather alone. Monsoon may have entered Rajasthan but the state is soaring at above 40 degrees. Bikaner in west Rajasthan recorded 42⁰C yesterday and there may be no change in the temperatures for days to come. Chances are it may go beyond 42⁰C tomorrow.
Punjab, Haryana and west Uttar Pradesh will face similar conditions as temperatures will be in the rising trend here as well. Maximum temperature may rise by 2 to 3 degrees and settle between 38 to 40⁰C in the next two days.
In the hills, as the monsoon fury is over and the rains have become close to nil in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, temperatures have risen marginally and may rise further by 1 to 2 degrees. However, the weather in Uttarakhand may continue to remain cool and pleasant.
The hot and dry northwesterly winds from the north may penetrate up to central India and Gujarat raising the temperatures there but since light rain is continuing every day, it may not make the days hot.
A trough of low, currently present at the foothills of U.P and Bihar, may soon travel to Haryana and Delhi. This may change the winds to humid easterlies, dropping the maximum and minimum temperatures once again after 48 to 72hrs.
“We are not expecting rain in Delhi and north India before the 25th or the 26th of June. Light to moderate rain is expected afterwards. Till then the weather will be mainly dry and hot in entire north and northwest India”, says Palawat.
Photo by Ritika Acharya.
