Mercury may touch 42 degrees C by Tuesday

New Delhi: The city witnessed a sultry day with high temperatures and humidity levels making outdoor conditions uncomfortable. The mercury is likely to rise to 42 degrees Celsius by Tuesday, while a spell of rain is expected on June 11 and 12.

The maximum temperature on Saturday rose to 40 degrees Celsius, which is near normal for this time of year. It was 35.8 degrees Celsius a day earlier. Even the heat index or feel like temperature touched 44.8 degrees Celsius at 2.30 pm on Saturday as opposed to the air temperature of 38.8 degrees Celsius.

“After the influence of a western disturbance was over, clear skies returned, leading to the rise in mercury. A gradual rise in maximum temperatures by 4-6 degrees Celsius is likely during the next three days and no significant change thereafter,” said a met official.

India Meteorological Department has predicted that the maximum temperature is likely to stay around 40 degrees Celsius on Sunday and may rise to 42 degrees Celsius by Tuesday.

“Another spell of very light to light rain accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds up to 60 kmph is expected on June 11 and 12. It may bring down the maximum temperature to around 35-37 degrees Celsius on June 12,” said IMD.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 26.4 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal, on Saturday. It is likely to stay between 26 and 28 degrees Celsius on Sunday. However, it may rise to around 31 degrees Celsius by June 10.

In May, Safdarjung, which is the city’s base station, had logged 17.6 mm of rainfall as opposed to the month’s normal of 30.7 mm. It ended with a rain deficit of 43%.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘moderate’ category with an AQI of 176.