NEW DELHI: The national capital witnessed a slight dip in both maximum and minimum temperatures on Saturday, even as the India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert for Sunday, forecasting light rain and continued hot and humid conditions.
Safdarjung, the national capital’s base weather station, recorded a maximum temperature of 38.2 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal and 0.6 degrees lower than Friday. The minimum temperature settled at 30.2 degrees Celsius, also three degrees above normal and 0.8 degrees lower than the previous day.
At Palam, the maximum temperature was 37.4 degrees Celsius, down 1.1 degrees from Friday, while the minimum was 28.8 degrees Celsius, 0.3 degrees lower than the previous day. Lodhi Road recorded a minimum of 29.2 degrees Celsius, 0.9 degrees lower than Friday, while Ayanagar recorded a minimum of 29.4 degrees Celsius.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for Sunday.
“There is a possibility of very light rain to light rain at isolated places accompanied by strong surface winds of 20-30 kmph, gusting to 40 kmph during the morning or forenoon hours. Hot and humid conditions are likely to persist,” an IMD official said.
According to the forecast, the maximum temperature on Sunday is likely to remain between 36 and 38 degrees Celsius, while the minimum is expected to be 27-29 degrees Celsius.
On Friday, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 31 degrees Celsius, the highest minimum temperature since July 1, 2021, when it had settled at 31.7 degrees Celsius. Despite the forecast, rain remained elusive for the seventh consecutive day at the Safdarjung base station. The national capital last recorded rainfall on July 10.
Meanwhile, the capital’s air quality continued to remain in the moderate category. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index stood at 174 at 4 pm on Saturday, compared with 177 recorded at the same time on Friday.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI of 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe.