Delhi weather update: IMD forecasts temperature to hit 40°C by next week; experts warn of dry winds over next few days

The national capital, New Delhi, continued to experience rising temperatures on Saturday, with the India Meteorological Department forecasting a further increase in the coming days.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that minimum temperatures in New Delhi will hover around 18–20°C by Sunday and rise further to 20–22°C by Tuesday. Maximum temperatures are expected to range between 35–37°C by Sunday and could climb to 38–40°C by next Wednesday, according to PTI.

Experts have warned of dry winds over the next few days.

The weather department has also indicated that gusty winds, blowing at speeds of 15–25 kmph and occasionally reaching up to 35 kmph, are likely to persist during the daytime on Sunday.

"Gradual rise in maximum temperatures by 6-7°C during next 7 days. Prevailing below normal Maximum temperatures are likely to become normal during next 2 days and above normal to appreciably above normal thereafter,” IMD mentioned in its forecast.

Meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya took to X and said, “As rains taper down now, temperatures are all set to rise gradually starting this weekend. By next mid week - weekend, many cities to record maximum temperatures b/w 42 to 45°c. Delhi and Haryana can report first 40°c of the season by 17th or 18th April. Heatwave conditions to observe parts of central & peninsular India.”

“There will be dry winds over the next few days, as the cooling of northwestern winds fades. As there will he continuous, bright sunshine with no cloud cover and no rainfall, the temperature is bound to rise,” HT quoted Mahesh Palawat, vice president of Skymet Weather, as saying.

Other stations across the city also reported noticeable increases in both maximum and minimum temperatures. Palam registered a maximum of 34.4°C, marking a rise of 2.6 degrees from Friday, while its minimum temperature reached 19.5°C, up by 3.9 degrees. Meanwhile, Lodhi Road recorded a minimum temperature of 17.8°C, reflecting an increase of 2.6 degrees from the previous day.

The city’s air quality showed improvement on Saturday morning. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 123 (moderate) at 4 pm, compared to 151 (moderate) recorded at the same time a day earlier.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards, AQI levels between 0–50 are classified as ‘good’, 51–100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 as ‘moderate’, 201–300 as ‘poor’, 301–400 as ‘very poor’, and 401–500 as ‘severe’.

The Air Quality Early Warning System has projected that air quality will remain in the ‘moderate’ category over the next few days, before potentially slipping into the ‘poor’ category thereafter.