New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) Cloudy skies and spells of rain greeted Delhi residents on Tuesday as the national capital remained under a yellow alert, even as temperatures stayed above normal with the maximum touching 33.7 degrees Celsius.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert, indicating “be updated”, with a generally cloudy sky and intermittent very light to light rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and strong surface winds of 20-30 kmph, gusting up to 40 kmph during the evening and night.
Rainfall recorded between 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm stood at 2.1 mm at Safdarjung, 2.6 mm at Palam, 2.8 mm at Lodi Road, 2.4 mm at Ridge and 2.2 mm at Ayanagar. Among other stations, Janakpuri recorded the highest rainfall at 4 mm, while Pusa and Mayur Vihar received 2 mm each and Pitampura recorded 1.5 mm.
Maximum temperatures across stations remained in a similar range above normal, with Safdarjung recording 33.7 degrees Celsius, Palam 33.2 degrees, Lodi Road 33.2 degrees, Ridge 33.9 degrees and Ayanagar 33.8 degrees.
Minimum temperatures showed slight variation, with Safdarjung at 19.4 degrees Celsius, Palam at 19.6 degrees, Lodi Road at 18.0 degrees, Ridge at 18.4 degrees and Ayanagar at 18.6 degrees.
The weather office has forecast a minimum temperature of 18 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 34 degrees Celsius for Wednesday, with partly cloudy skies.
The air quality stood in the ‘moderate’ category with an AQI of 171, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The Air Quality Early Warning System has forecast that air quality is likely to remain in the ‘moderate’ category from April 1 to 3.
As per CPCB standards, an AQI of 0–50 is considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’, and 401–500 ‘severe’.
As the month comes to an end, Delhi recorded its most polluted March in four years in 2026, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 181 till March 30, the highest since 2022, when it stood at 217, according to an analysis by Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
The month was also among the hottest in the past four years as the average maximum temperature stood at 32.6 degrees Celsius — highest in four years. The last time the average maximum temperature was higher in March was in 2022, when it reached 33.4 degrees Celsius.
This was the wettest March as well in the last three years. Rainfall recorded this month was 19.82 mm — the highest for the month since 2023, when rainfall was significantly higher at 50.4 mm, while rainfall in 2024 and 2025 remained lower than the 2026 levels. PTI SGV PRK
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