New Delhi sweltered through its hottest first week of March, breaking the record of the earliest it has crossed the 35°C threshold in March.
The Safdarjung Observatory, the capital’s primary weather station, recorded temperatures as high as 35.7°C.
The last time temperatures climbed over the 35°C mark in March was back in at least 2011, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
IMD confirmed the temperature was roughly 7.3°C above normal, creating conditions that more closely resemble late April or May than early March.
The hot temperatures arriving weeks before summer are conventionally expected to set in. This is alarming, and is fanning the assumption that 2026 will be scorchingly hot, and might even outperform the record summer of 2024.
The first week of March in 2026 also became the hottest first week of the month in New Delhi in half a century.
WHY IS DELHI SO HOT?
According to meteorologists, the high temperatures in Delhi are due to a mixture of different factors.
High-pressure systems and the absence of pre-monsoon showers have triggered above-normal temperatures across Northwest and Peninsular India, according to the IMD.
Some areas are seeing an increase of 3°C–7°C above normal due to the lack of cloud formation and rainfall.
The deficit of Western Disturbances has also left the plains exposed to relentless sunshine and dry winds.
Western Disturbances are weather systems that typically sweep in from the Mediterranean and bring cooling rain and cloud cover to northern India during winter.
Experts note that current dry conditions and strong lower-level winds are classic signs of an early pre-monsoon transition, suggesting the seasonal calendar is shifting earlier than it used to in the past.
Additionally, the heat is far from confined to the capital.
March 2026 is witnessing temperatures 4°C to 12°C above the seasonal average across large parts of India, while localised alerts are active for several states as the mercury consistently crosses the 40°C mark in central and western regions.
Maximum temperatures were markedly above normal, even exceeding 5.1°C, at most places across Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu-Kashmir.
WILL THE HEAT REDUCE?
Experts have said that some temporary relief appears to be on the way.
A fresh Western Disturbance is forecast to approach the Himalayan region around March 9 or March 10.
The weather system is expected to bring a dip in daytime temperatures by 5°C–7°C across the northern plains.
However, the IMD warns that relief may be temporary, with dry and sunny conditions forecast across Delhi-NCR and no rainfall expected for at least the next 10 days beyond the brief disturbance.
With summer still officially weeks away, forecasters caution that the season ahead could be long and severe.
