Delhiites continued to reel under the hot and humid conditions as the day temperature settled at 42.3°C on Saturday, seven notches above normal, while humidity levels hovered above 70 per cent. The monsoon rains have continued to elude the national Capital for the past one week. On Friday, the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 42°C and 30.1°C respectively.
Minimum temperature also remained above 30°C mark giving Delhiites — already tormented by frequent outages at unearthly hours — sleepless nights. According to the MeT Department, while the maximum temperature was recorded at 42.3°C, the minimum temperature on Saturday settled at 30.5°C, which was four degrees Celsius above normal. Meanwhile, the humidity level oscillated between 35 per cent and 72 per cent during the day.
“Usually, the monsoon season starts with July and the current upward trend in temperature is mainly due to elusive rains,” a MeT official said. Monsoon had arrived in Delhi on July 3 but since then the city has witnessed scant rainfall in certain areas. According to MeT Department, monsoon is likely to revive in the city from Monday. The weatherman predicted partly cloudy sky in the city with the possibility of thundery conditions occurring in some parts on Sunday. However, the maximum and minimum are expected to settle around 41°C and 30°C respectively.