India, June 30 -- Even after sunset, Delhi found little relief this summer. As the season draws to a close, the city recorded its warmest summer nights in four years, with the average minimum temperature during the March-June pre-monsoon period climbing to 22.9 degrees Celsius, the highest seasonal average since 2022, according to IMD data. The pre-monsoon season was also marked by preponed pre-monsoon showers, persistently hot days, brief but intense spells of heatwave and a delayed onset of the southwest monsoon. The average minimum temperature stood at 22.9 degrees Celsius, recorded till June 29, against 21.2 degrees Celsius in 2021, 23.3 degrees Celsius in 2022, 20.9 degrees Celsius in 2023, 22.8 degrees Celsius in 2024 and 22.5 degrees Celsius in 2025, making it the highest seasonal average since 2022. Also Read - SIR of voter list kicks off in Delhi; CM Rekha Gupta calls it 'yajna of democracy' The average maximum temperature during the March-June pre-monsoon period, recorded till June 28, stood at 37 degrees Celsius, compared with 36.5 degrees Celsius in 2021, 38.4 degrees Celsius in 2022, 35 degrees Celsius in 2023, 37.6 degrees Celsius in 2024 and 36.6 degrees Celsius in 2025, making it the second-highest seasonal average in the last six years after 2024. Month-wise IMD data showed March was among the hottest in recent years. The average maximum temperature stood at 32.6 degrees Celsius, the highest for the month in four years. The last hotter March was in 2022, when the average maximum temperature was 33.4 degrees Celsius. Also Read - SIR of Delhi's voter list begins today; 13,000 BLOs deployed The average minimum temperature for March 2026 stood at 17.6 degrees Celsius, the highest in four years since 2022, when it was at the same level. March was also the wettest in the last three years, with 19.82 mm of rainfall, the highest since March 2023, when the city had received 50.4 mm. April brought a sharp shift in weather, with frequent and preponed pre-monsoon showers making it Delhi's wettest April in 18 years. The city received around 28 mm of rainfall during the month, the highest since 38.6 mm recorded in April 2008. The average maximum temperature stood at around 37 degrees Celsius, making it the coolest April in two years, while the average minimum temperature was 21 degrees Celsius. The city swung back to extreme heat in May. The average maximum temperature rose to 39.4 degrees Celsius, the highest since 2024, when it stood at 41.7 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature was 25.8 degrees Celsius, the second-highest in the last five years after 26.5 degrees Celsius in 2024. Delhi experienced four heatwave days between May 18 and May 21, with temperatures crossing 46 degrees Celsius in several parts of the city. The capital also witnessed unusually warm nights in May, with the minimum temperature touching 31.9 degrees Celsius on May 21.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.