Heat persists at 41.3°C; IMD predicts rain, gusty winds ahead

The capital saw a slight spike in minimum temperature on Saturday while the maximum settled at 41.3 degrees Celsius, with the India Meteorological department (IMD) forecasting light rainfall and gusty winds over the city in coming days.

“On Sunday, partly cloudy skies are expected to persist and there is possibility of thundery development towards afternoon or evening. Strong surface winds of speed 20-30 kmph, occasionally gusting to 40 kmph, during the day is also expected,” an IMD official said, adding that the conditions may intensify on Tuesday-Wednesday, when thunderstorms along with rainfall is likely.
The  monsoon is now expected to reach Delhi-NCR during the first week of July, according to the latest update from the IMD. Earlier forecasts had indicated that the monsoon would arrive by June 27, but changing weather conditions have pushed back its expected onset. 

On the day, Safdarjung — the city’s base weather station — recorded a minimum temperature of 30.8 degrees Celsius, 2.9 degrees below normal — a 2.1-degree rise since the day before.
Other weather stations also marked a similar increase in the minimum temperatures. Palam recorded a minimum of 28.4 degrees Celsius, 0.9 degrees higher than than the Friday minimum, Lodhi Road recorded 29.8 degrees Celsius, a 2.4-degree rise, and Ridge and Ayanagar recorded 26.8 degrees and 29.3 degrees Celsius, respectively, showing a 0.2-degree and 2.3-degree rise since Friday.

The maximum temperature was logged at 41.3 degrees Celsius, 4.1 degrees above the normal, and did not see any major change across stations.
According to IMD, trace amount of rainfall was recorded in parts of Delhi early Saturday. However, no further rain was recorded through the day. IMD has issued an alert for rainfall and thunderstorms for Tuesday and Wednesday.

“There is a possibility of very light to light rain in the coming days, with weather conditions intensifying on Tuesday and Wednesday,” an IMD official said, adding that an alert has been issued in this regard.

According to IMD forecast, the maximum might see a slight drop in the coming days and is likely to hover around 39-41 degrees Celsius on Sunday, and 35-37 degrees Celsius by Wednesday. The minimum temperature is likely to be around 28-30 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) of the city remained in the ‘moderate’ category on Saturday and the 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 130 at 4 pm, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.