A sudden change in wind direction to northwesterlies led to a noticeable drop in the Capital’s night temperature, with Delhi recording a minimum of 13.5 degrees Celsius (°C) on Monday, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data — the coldest day of the season so far.
However, this drop in mercury is expected to be temporary, with Met officials saying that Delhi’s wind direction has already transitioned to southeasterlies, which will bring moisture to Delhi and lead to a slight increase in temperature.
Monday’s low was two degrees below the normal for this time of the year, and was nearly two degrees below the low of 15.8°C logged a day earlier. Before this, the coldest day of the season was on October 28, when the minimum temperature was recorded at 14.3°C.
Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD, said a western disturbance is approaching northwest India, which has led to a change in wind direction. “The wind direction will be variable over the next few days now, switching between southeasterly, westerly, and northwesterly. This will mean Delhi’s temperature could rise once more, touching around 17°C by November 10,” he said, adding that a return to northwesterly was expected only from November 11.
Delhi, meanwhile, recorded a maximum temperature of 31.5°C Celsius on Monday — a degree above the normal. The season’s lowest maximum so far was recorded on Sunday, when the high was 29.5°C.
IMD forecasts show that the maximum is likely to remain above 30°C till November 10, and strong northwesterly winds could lead to a drop in the mercury from November 11 onwards.
Delhi’s maximum temperature tends to dip to around 25°C in November, while the minimum falls below the 10-degree mark by the end of the month. Last year, the lowest maximum in November was 25.4°C (November 18), while the lowest minimum was 7.3°C (November 29).
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