The India Meteorological Department said on October 3 that the monsoon has completely withdrawn from Delhi-NCR, with clear and sunny weather forecast for October 3 to 5.
The change shows in the temperatures: recent rain had brought both maximum and minimum temperatures down, and the forecast for October 3 is a high of 36 degrees Celsius and a low of 24 degrees Celsius.
Air quality was in the moderate category, but the stations differ: Alipur recorded 198, CRRI Mathura Road 191, Punjabi Bagh 186, Mandir Marg 154 and Patparganj 133, so the city’s air was not uniform on the day.
Delhi’s winter pollution action plan takes effect from November 1 and runs through February 2027, so the dry weather now marks the start of the period that plan is meant to cover.
Elsewhere, rain continues in the south and northeast, with Arunachal Pradesh forecast to see isolated heavy rainfall on October 3 and 4.
Alipur recorded the highest reading among the stations reported, an air quality index of 198.
CRRI Mathura Road recorded 191, Punjabi Bagh 186 and Mandir Marg 154.
Patparganj recorded the lowest of the reported readings, at 133.
On the AQI scale, readings of 101 to 200 fall in the moderate category.
Elsewhere in India, rain continued in the south and northeast.
Kerala, Mahe, coastal Karnataka and Lakshadweep were forecast to get fairly widespread to widespread rainfall.
Arunachal Pradesh was forecast to see isolated heavy rainfall on October 3 and 4.
The withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from north India usually happens during September and October.
India’s air quality index scale runs from 0 to 500: 0 to 50 is good, 51 to 100 satisfactory, 101 to 200 moderate, 201 to 300 poor, 301 to 400 very poor and 401 to 500 severe.
Delhi’s winter pollution action plan takes effect from November 1 and runs through February 2027.
Red Fort, New Delhi under a clear sky (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0