Gurgaon: Mercury on Monday peaked at 29.2 degrees Celsius in Gurgaon even as Delhi recorded a thermometer high of 30 degrees Celsius for the first time this season as north India began to gear up for what will likely be an early summer. Delhi’s maximum was a staggering seven degrees above normal for this time of the year, making it the earliest instance of the temperature crossing the 30-degree threshold in Feb in the past five years. In Gurgaon, the maximum is expected to stay between 29 and 31 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, and the India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for spells of light to very light rain accompanied by a thunderstorm and gusty winds up to 40 kmph for Wednesday.The minimum temperature stood at 10.8 degrees Celsius, as against 10.3 degrees Celsius a day before, indicating a wide day-night temperature variation.Meanwhile, in Delhi, the minimum temperature was recorded at 10.1 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal. It is likely to rise from Tuesday and may remain around 12-14 degrees Celsius. While no rainfall was recorded in the past 24 hours, IMD has indicated that the city will likely record isolated thunderstorms and lightning accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 kmph on Feb 17 and 18. IMD also warned of thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds across parts of Haryana over the next two days.Across Haryana, average maximum temperatures rose by 0.6 degrees Celsius and remained appreciably above normal by around 3.7 degrees. Bhiwani recorded the state’s highest maximum temperature at 29.9 degrees Celsius. Light rainfall is likely at isolated places on Feb 17 and 18, while minimum temperatures are expected to rise by 2-3 degrees Celsius over the next two days before dipping again. Conditions are expected to stabilise from Feb 19 onwards, with no major warnings issued for most districts.
