By Sandeep Verma 
New Delhi, September 30: The morning broke hot and heavy in the capital, the kind of heat that clings even before sunrise. By 8 am, Delhi had already logged a minimum temperature of 28.7 °C, several degrees above what late September should feel like. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) insists there’s rain on the horizon, a drizzle here, a light shower there, but so far the skies have only threatened.
A Sky That Refuses To Break
Step outside today, and you can sense the change trying to push through. Clouds have been dragging across the NCR since dawn, keeping the sun muted, but the air is still thick, almost unmoving. Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad are all on the IMD’s watchlist for passing rain. Whether that rain arrives in time to cool the streets before rush hour is anybody’s guess.
Forecasts are split: some peg the maximum temperature at 32 °C, others push it as high as 36 °C. That spread captures the uncertainty Delhiites know too well one neighborhood may get a sudden downpour, while another just a smear of humidity.
Nights That Feel Like Days
What has unsettled many residents is the stubborn warmth after sunset. Normally, by the end of September, nights ease up. This year, they haven’t. Fans and air-conditioners are still running deep into the night, a reminder that the monsoon is dragging its feet on the way out. Meteorologists point to a mix of urban heat island effects and a delayed monsoon retreat, both holding temperatures well above the norm.
Breathing Gets Harder
By morning, the air quality index stood at 114, moderate but creeping upward. That’s enough to bother children, the elderly, and those with respiratory problems. Doctors in the city are already warning that this is the time to be cautious. Humid air locks in pollutants, and even “moderate” air can feel heavy on the lungs.
The drizzle, if and when it comes, will give a short reprieve by knocking down dust. But nobody is under the illusion it will solve Delhi’s deeper problem. The next chapter is familiar: stubble burning across Punjab and Haryana, the festival fireworks, and the winter winds that trap it all close to the ground.
What Residents Can Expect
For now, Delhiites will take what little comfort they can. Cloudy skies mean electricity demand may dip, sparing the power grid from the surges seen last week. A light rain shower could cool the pavements and make the commute home bearable. But these are small wins against the larger backdrop of a city caught between summer’s tail and winter’s chokehold.
Looking Ahead
This season used to be the capital’s sweet spot not too hot, not yet smogged in. That balance has slipped in recent years. Climate scientists warn that transitional months are getting squeezed, leaving Delhi lurching from one extreme to the next.
If the forecasts hold, September will close with a drizzle, and October will arrive with haze on the horizon. For millions in the capital, that means bracing not just for a change in weather, but for the arrival of the season they dread most: the smog-filled weeks when the sky itself disappears.
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Regional journalist bringing grassroots perspectives and stories from towns and cities across India.
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/sandeep/
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/sandeep/
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/sandeep/
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/sandeep/
Ananya Sharma and Sandeep Verma