Respite from heat unlikely in Delhi next week, mercury to remain around 40 degrees

The week ahead is set to remain warm with the maximum temperature likely to be 40 degrees Celsius or above. While very light rainfall or thundershowers are expected on June 14, respite from the heat is unlikely.

On Saturday, the highest maximum temperature recorded in the city was 44 degrees Celsius at the Commonwealth Games Sports Complex near Akshardham. The weather station at the Ridge recorded a maximum temperature of 42.5 degrees Celsius.

The normal maximum temperature for this time of the year is 39.9 degrees Celsius. Delhi saw below normal maximum temperatures on many days in April and May with western disturbances affecting the city and keeping heatwave conditions largely at bay.

The maximum relative humidity recorded on Friday and Saturday was also over 50%, settling at around 64% on Friday and 66% on Saturday.

Strong surface winds of around 25 to 35 kmph are expected during the day time over the next six days.

The minimum temperature, which was around 26.7 degrees early on Saturday, is likely to settle at around 28 or 29 degrees Celsius over the next six days, which is close to the normal for this time of the year.

So far this month, Delhi has recorded around 4.1 mm of rainfall, which is a little below the normal of 9.7 mm for June so far. The normal onset date of the monsoon in Delhi is June 27.

In a bulletin issued on Saturday, the IMD said that conditions are favourable for the further advance of the southwest monsoon into some more parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and some parts of Maharashtra over the next 48 hours.