Unusual weather: Fog in Delhi in hottest month of year

Delhi experienced an unusual veil of shallow fog on Thursday morning to much bemusement of its residents.

Such weather conditions are not typical for May which tends to be the hottest month of the year in the city with a mean maximum temperature of 39.5 degrees Celsius.

Weather department officials said high moisture content in the air, calm winds and a significant difference between the daytime and nighttime temperatures create conditions that are favourable for the formation of fog.

According to the IMD, shallow fog is when visibility is between 501 and 1,000 metres.

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The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded 30 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Thursday.

It logged a maximum temperature of 30.6 degrees Celsius, nine notches below normal, on Wednesday and a minimum temperature of 15.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the lowest in the month in at least 13 years.

The all-time low of 15.2 degrees Celsius – since the weather keeping started – was recorded on May 2, 1982.

Humidity levels oscillated between 80 per cent and 100 per cent at most places in the city.

Another spell of rain is likely Friday onwards, weather officials said.

Delhi recorded more than 20 mm of rainfall in April, the highest in the month since 2017, due to back-to-back western disturbances.

The Safdarjung Observatory recorded the maximum temperature at least 10 degrees below normal on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday due to intermittent rainfall and cloudy weather under the influence of successive western disturbances.

The maximum temperature settled at 28.7 degrees Celsius on Sunday and dropped to 26.2 degrees Celsius on Monday, making it the second coldest day in the month in 13 years. The city recorded a maximum of 28.3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

Another western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India starting May 5. Under its influence, cloudy skies and sporadic rain is predicted in the capital until May 7, an IMD official said.

The maximum temperature is predicted to remain below 35 degrees Celsius until May 8.

The Met office has predicted below-normal maximum temperatures and fewer heatwave days in northwest India in May.