New Delhi: The current spell of pleasant weather in the national capital may end soon as temperatures are likely to steadily rise in coming days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
In its daily forecast on Monday, the department said that in the last 24 hours, maximum temperatures were markedly below normal (5.1 degrees Celsius or less) at isolated places, appreciably below normal (3.1 degrees Celsius to 5 degrees Celsius below) at many places, and below normal (1.6 degrees Celsius to 3 degrees Celsius) over remaining parts of Delhi.
Similarly, minimum temperatures were appreciably below normal (3.1 degrees Celsius to 5 degrees Celsius below) at a few places, and normal over remaining parts of Delhi.
However, this is likely to change soon, especially from October 1, when both minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to be near normal at most places over Delhi. Maximum temperatures could be in the range of 33 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees Celsius, and minimum temperatures from 23 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius, the IMD said.
Delhi and its adjoining areas have seen a drop in temperatures under the influence of a western disturbance and an upper air cyclonic circulation, which lies over northwest Uttar Pradesh and neighbourhood. Both of these weather systems are usually associated with rainfall, resulting in cooler temperatures.
The IMD said that due to these systems in northwest India, isolated to scattered rainfall accompanied with thunderstorm lightning was likely over east Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, and west Uttar Pradesh during September 28-29; east Uttar Pradesh during September 28-30; and west Rajasthan on September 28.
The southwest monsoon (June-September) receded from Delhi on September 23.
Once the western disturbance and the upper air cyclonic circulation dissipate, temperatures are expected to rise. The situation could be exacerbated as a result of the prevailing El Nino conditions over the equatorial Pacific.
El Nino is one of the three phases of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) - a climate phenomenon characterised by changes in sea temperatures along the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, accompanied by fluctuations in the atmosphere overhead.
While El Nino is known to have a warming effect on the planet, its opposite phase, called La Nina, usually results in a cooling effect. ENSO also has a neutral phase.
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Global weather agencies such as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have predicted that the prevailing El Nino conditions, which emerged in June this year, are likely to intensify into "a very strong event" in the coming months and persist through February 2027.
This means that temperatures in India could remain high even during the winter months (December-February).
A report by the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute, released last week, projected around 15,800 additional heat-related deaths in India over the next six months, compared to a normal year, due to El Nino conditions.
It added that the climate phenomenon could push global land temperatures 1.2 degrees Celsius above normal in the coming months, resembling the higher temperatures that climate change is projected to deliver in the next 20 years.
