Delhi records highest minimum temperature this year; dust-carrying winds worsen air quality

NEW DELHI: At 31.4 degrees Celsius, Delhi on Wednesday recorded the highest minimum temperature this year so far, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The maximum temperature is likely to cross the 42 degrees-Celsius mark during the day.

Light rainfall over the weekend is likely to provide some relief from the heat, it said.

Also, the city's air quality deteriorated to the upper end of the poor category due to the dust-carrying winds blowing from Rajasthan.

The air quality index (AQI) value was 287 at 9:30 am.

The 24-hour average AQI was 205 on Thursday, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.

Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre, said dust-raising winds are blowing in from Rajasthan.

"This is expected to continue till Friday," he said.

A low-pressure system forming in the Bay of Bengal may lead to rainfall in the national capital over the weekend, which will bring down the temperature and pollution levels, he said.

On Tuesday, Delhi had recorded a maximum of 41.7 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal.

The Safdarjung Observatory, considered the official marker for the city, has not recorded any heat wave so far this summer.

"It is likely to be the first time since 2014 that there will be no heat wave this year," Srivastava said.