&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Delhi records warmest, most polluted February in three years; temperature soars to 31.9°C")
Delhi has experienced the warmest and the most polluted February in three years. The mercury on Friday stood at 31.9 degrees Celsius, marking six degrees above normal. The unusually warming of national capital on this month is likely due to the absence of active western disturbances.
The average maximum temperature in February stood at 27 degrees Celsius (°C), which was 2.8 degrees higher to the long-period average (LPA) of 24.2°C for February. This temperature is considered as the highest from the average maximum since February 2023, during which it was 28.2°C, according to a report in HT.
Meanwhile, air quality of Delhi also deteriorated along with the increase in the temperature. So far, the average air quality index (AQI) of February in 2026 stood at 232, marking the highest since it was 237 in 2023. The average AQI of February in 2015 was 214, 218 in 2024, 225 in 2022, 288 in 2021 and 241 in 2020.
Effect of weak western disturbances
Experts linked the recent surge in temperature and pollution to a severe rainfall shortfall. The data of India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed that Delhi has received just 0.5mm of rain this month, far below the normal of 21.3mm. Weak western disturbances over the Himalayan region have have led to minimal snowfall in the mountains and little to no rainfall across the plains.
“We only saw patchy and isolated drizzle in Delhi on a couple of days. Though the maximum briefly dipped due to overcast skies, it did not lead to any significant cooling,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president at Skymet adding that the lack of rainfall also results in rise of pollution levels of Delhi. “If there is a decent spell of rain, pollutants settle due to the washout effect. We did not see this in February," he added.
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A similar trend occurred in February 2025, when the average maximum temperature reached 26.7°C and rainfall was just 1.4 mm. By comparison, February 2024 recorded 32.5 mm of rain, which kept the average high at a lower 24.4°C and supported relatively improved air quality. In 2023, Delhi experienced no rainfall at all, with the average maximum temperature climbing to 28.2°C, the highest recorded in 15 years.
