Perched on 32.8C, capital is staring at warmer days

New Delhi: Delhi recorded the hottest day of the year on Sunday as the mercury touching 32.8 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal, at Safdarjung, the city's base station.
It was 31.1 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
The day temperature is likely to rise further over the next few days, but a western disturbance, which may cause very light rain on Holi on Friday, is expected to bring down the mercury.
Before Sunday, the highest maximum temperature of the year was recorded on Feb 27 at 32.4 degrees Celsius. Pitampura was the second hottest station on Sunday after Safdarjung. The maximum temperature reached 32.5 degrees there.
According to the India Meteorological Department, the maximum temperature is likely to rise further to close to around 33 degrees Celsius on Monday and 34 on Tuesday. "Under the influence of a fresh western disturbance, the city may see cloudiness on Thursday and very light rainfall on Friday. It is likely to cause a marginal dip in maximum temperature," a Met official said.
The minimum temperature on Sunday was 13.5 degrees Celsius, a degree below normal, at Safdarjung. It was 13.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday. Similar to the day temperature, the nights are predicted to turn warmer. The Met department has predicted that the minimum is likely to rise to 15-16 degrees Celsius over the next few days.
Delhi's air quality deteriorated on Sunday and entered the poor range of the Air Quality Index (AQI) as wind speed dropped during the day. The AQI was 209 at 4pm, compared to 158 in the moderate range a day earlier.
According to the Air Quality Early Warning System, the forecasting body under the Union ministry of earth sciences, the air quality is likely to remain poor till Tuesday. It may improve to moderate on Wednesday if wind speed rises.
The Commission for Air Quality Management imposed measures under Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on Friday after AQI turned poor.