Mercury set to cross 30°C this week in Gurgaon, says IMD

Gurgaon: The city recorded a maximum temperature of 26.5°C and a minimum of 12.8°C on Saturday, compared with 26.4°C and 12.6°C, respectively, a day earlier.Weather conditions remained dry across Haryana, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin said. Although the state's average maximum temperature saw a slight dip of 0.4°C, it remained 1.6°C above normal.In Haryana, Palwal recorded the highest maximum temperature at 29.1°C on Saturday, followed by Bhiwani at 28.1°C and Nuh at 27.9°C.According to an IMD forecast, with sunshine during the day and no cloud cover, temperatures are expected to rise by 2-4°C across the state this week. In the city, the mercury is likely to cross 30°C by Feb 26 as dry conditions continue.The weather department said the absence of any active western disturbance over north India will keep skies largely clear. Night temperatures are also expected to rise gradually, though the increase may be less than during the day."The minimum temperature is expected to remain around 12-13°C, while the maximum may range between 27°C and 30°C over the next seven days," IMD said.Meanwhile, the city's air quality index stood at 250 on Saturday, up from 241 a day earlier, placing it in the poor category. Air quality has largely remained in the poor to very poor range through February. Brief improvements were recorded on Feb 2, when the index was 191, and on Feb 19, when it fell to 148. On both days, air quality was in the moderate category.