Parts of Delhi-NCR woke up to haze and shallow fog on Saturday morning, an uncommon sight for April. Weather experts linked the phenomenon to a mix of recent rain, increased moisture in the air and slightly lower night temperatures. These factors combined to create condensation near the surface during early hours, leading to reduced visibility in some areas.
Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather said that light rainfall on Friday significantly raised moisture levels. At the same time, clearer skies overnight and a marginal dip in temperature created conditions favourable for fog formation. He noted that such conditions can occasionally occur during March and April when moisture remains high.
Temperature and rainfall trends
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 20.7C on Saturday, about 1.9 degrees above normal. Despite this, the presence of high moisture allowed fog to form. The maximum temperature settled at 32C, around 2 degrees below normal, keeping the day relatively mild for early April.
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Rainfall remained limited but uneven across the region. Safdarjung, the city’s base station, recorded 0.5 mm of rain in the 24 hours ending Saturday morning, while Ayanagar saw higher precipitation at 5.8 mm. The India Meteorological Department said most areas experienced light to very light rainfall, gusty winds, and cloudy skies.
Weather outlook for the week
According to the IMD, Delhi is likely to see mild conditions continue over the next few days, with intermittent cloud cover and chances of light rain or thundershowers. Palawat indicated that temperatures may rise slightly on Sunday and Monday, with another spell of rain expected from Monday night due to an approaching western disturbance.
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This system is likely to impact northwest India around April 7 and 8, bringing thunderstorms and gusty winds to Delhi-NCR.
Air quality shows improvement
The shift in weather also helped improve air quality. The AQI dropped from 266 on Friday to 137 on Saturday, moving from poor to moderate levels. Experts attributed the improvement to favourable meteorological conditions, including wind movement and moisture in the air.
