New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) The national capital saw a slight dip in the minimum temperature on Saturday, with the India Meteorological Department issuing a yellow alert for Sunday, warning of light rain and gusty winds.
It also forecast a further decrease in the temperature over the next few days.
Safdarjung, the city’s base station, recorded a minimum temperature of 18.1 degrees Celsius, three notches above the normal. It was, however, 2.3 notches lower than a day before.
Palam and Lodhi Road weather stations recorded a minimum of 16.6 degrees Celsius, showing a slight drop from the temperatures recorded at both places a day before.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a spell of very light rain or drizzle, accompanied by thunderstorm, lightning and strong surface winds of speed up to 50 kmph, on Sunday morning. This is likely to bring the temperature down further.
“Due to a western disturbance approaching the western Himalayas, cyclonic activity has developed over central Pakistan adjoining Punjab and Haryana.
“As a result, parts of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi are likely to witness rainfall over the next two days. This is expected to be the season’s first pre-monsoon rain, which has arrived about 10 days earlier than usual,” Mahesh Palawat, vice president of meteorology and climate change at Skymet Weather, told PTI.
The advancing, Palawat added, has been triggered by the western disturbance combined with the higher temperatures the city has been experiencing over the past few days.
Meanwhile, city’s maximum temperature was 33.2 degrees, 4.3 degrees above the normal and 0.6 degree higher than a day before.
According to forecasts, the minimum temperature is likely to be around 14-16 degrees Celsius by Monday. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 31-33 degrees Celsius by Monday, according to the Met department.
Delhi’s air quality showed a slight improvement but continued to remain in the ‘moderate’ category on Saturday morning with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 153 at 4pm, as compared to 189 recorded at the same time on Friday, data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed .
According to the CPCB, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
Delhi’s air quality is likely to remain in ‘moderate’ category for the next few days, according to forecasts by the Air Quality Early Warning System. PTI AHD SGV PRK
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