Rare fog envelops Delhi in hottest month, city marks third coldest day in May since 1901

An unusual shallow fog enveloped India's national capital Delhi on Thursday morning leaving the residents bemused, who generally expect sultry and hotweather in the month of May.

Historically, May has been the year's hottest month, recording a mean maximum temperature of 39.5 degreeCelsius.

On Thursday, the minimum temperature decreased to 15.8 degreeCelsius as it became the third coldest morning in the month of May since 1901.

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Delhi has been witnessing an unexpected weather pattern with cool and windy weather, sporadic rain and cloudy skies for which the weather forecasters have held back-to-back western disturbances responsible.

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Pictures and videos of the fog covering the skyline of the city were posted by the residents on social media.

“Fog on a May morning in Delhi. Never ever before have I experienced this in over 4 decades of living in this city. This is surreal!” said a Twitter user.

“Fog in Delhi on a summer morning! Same time last year, we were in a heat wave!” another person stated.

The weather department officials stated that calm winds, major differences between the nighttime and daytime temperatures and high moisture content in the air create conditions which are favourable for the fog's formation.

As per the IMD, shallow fog occurs when visibility ranges between 501 and 1,000 metres.

The primary weather station of Delhi, Safdarjung Observatory, recorded 30mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, ending at 8:30 am on Thursday.

A maximum temperature of 30.6 degree Celsius was recorded by the observatory, nine notches below normal, on Wednesday and it recorded a minimum temperature of 15.8 degreeCelsius on Thursday, which was the third lowest in the month since they began recording the temperatures in 1901.

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On May 2, 1969, the observatory recorded an all-time low temperature of 15.1 degreeCelsius. A minimum temperature of 15.2 degreeCelsius was recorded by the city on May 2, 1982. At most places in Delhi, humidity levels changed between 80 per cent and 100 per cent. From Friday onwards, the city is likely to receive another spell of rain, said the weather officials.

More than 20 mm of rainfall was recorded in the national capital in April, which was the highest rainfall received in the month since 2017, because of back-to-back western disturbances. The maximum temperatures recorded by the Safdarjung Observatory were at least 10 degrees below normal temperature on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday because of intermittent rainfall and cloudy weather conditions.

(With inputs from agencies)

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