Delhi min temp 18.8 deg Celsius; cloudy day ahead

Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 18.8 degrees Celsius, 0.7 degrees above the normal and 1.8 degrees down from the day before.

No rain was recorded till 9 am, yet cloudy skies are likely to persist throughout the day, the Indian Meteorological Department said. It sounded off a yellow alert, predicting a spell of very light to light rain, thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds of speed 30-40 kmph for Sunday.

According to IMD officials, the spell of unusual weather in March is linked to a series of western disturbances affecting northwest India.

These systems have been influencing the region since March 15 and are approaching at a lower altitude than usual, thereby impacting weather patterns over Delhi.

IMD has forecast the maximum temperature to remain around 31-33 degrees Celsius for the next couple of days.

The minimum might see a slight increase due to cloudy conditions, and is expected to be around 20-22 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 147 (moderate) at 9 am on Saturday, as compared to the 24-hour average AQI of 144 recorded at 4 pm on Friday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

As per CPCB standards, an AQI of 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.