This was Delhi's warmest winter in 12 years

This Delhi winter was the warmest in 12 years in terms of day temperatures. Just like in January, the maximum temperatures in the month of February too were the highest since 2006, Met records reveal.

The December-February period is generally considered the winter season in the capital. In 2017-18, while day temperatures in January and February were at a 12-year high, the average maximum temperature in December was 1 degree Celsius higher than normal.

Taking the three months together, the city hadn’t seen such warm day conditions since 2006, which was the warmest winter on record in at least the past 25 years.


The average maximum temperature in February was 26.5 degrees C, a massive 2.7 degrees higher than normal. Day temperatures were above normal on 24 of the 28 days in the month. This was a trend that continued from January, when the average maximum was 1.7 degrees higher than normal and day temperatures maxed the normal on 23 days.

Experts said a major reason for warm days during the two months was lack of rainfall. No rain was recorded in the city in February whereas the normal for the month is 22 mm.

“Both January and February this year were dry and mostly cloudless. In such conditions, the sun’s heat plays a big role in warming up the day. Also, westerly winds blew during much of February. These winds are generally warmer than the ones coming from the north,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s Regional Weather Forecasting Centre.

Snowfall in the western Himalayas too was much below normal this year, which led to mild winter conditions throughout north India. “There was just one western disturbance that brought rain to the northern plains in February, but the wet weather bypassed the capital,” Srivastava said.

Experts said global warming too could be playing a role. “Delhi has been witnessing mild winters for the past three years while day temperatures in February have been above average since 2015,” Srivastava added.

While maximum temperatures were very high during this winter, the clear sky conditions meant that the daytime warmth quickly radiated out after dark. This meant that night temperatures weren’t as high. In February, the average minimum temperature was 11.2 degrees C, 0.8 degrees higher than normal.

On the brighter side, dry and clear conditions, along with high temperatures, meant that pollution levels in the capital in all three winter months were lowest in the past three years.