Delhi sweltered on Wednesday under heatwave-like conditions recorded in parts of the city such as Lodhi Road, while several stations logged maximum temperatures above 44 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The maximum temperature at Safdarjung, the city's primary weather station, settled at 44.3 degrees Celsius, 3.9 notches above normal. Among other stations, Ridge recorded 45.6 degrees Celsius, 3.9 notches above normal, while Ayanagar logged 45.4 degrees Celsius, 3.3 notches above normal.
Lodhi Road recorded 44.6 degrees Celsius, 4.6 notches above normal, and Palam registered 44.6 degrees Celsius, 3.6 notches above normal. The minimum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 26.2 degrees Celsius, 0.4 notch below normal. Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 27.6 degrees Celsius, while Ridge logged 27.5 degrees Celsius. Lodhi Road recorded 25 degrees Celsius, and Ayanagar registered 26.7 degrees Celsius. The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Thursday, forecasting thunderstorm and rain activity.
The minimum temperature is expected to settle around 28 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature is likely to hover around 43 degrees Celsius. "Relief in heatwave conditions over the region is likely due to a likely western disturbance along with a moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal due to the likely formation of a lower tropospheric east-west trough," the IMD said. Delhi's air quality stood in the “moderate” category with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 190, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). As per CPCB standards, an AQI reading between zero and 50 is considered “good”, between 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 “moderate”, between 201 and 300 “poor”, between 301 and 400 “very poor”, and between 401 and 500 “severe”.