New Delhi, February 13 Delhi experienced a slight decrease in heat on Friday, with the maximum temperature reaching 32.6 degrees Celsius, 3.7 degrees above normal, and the city's air quality improved to the 'moderate' category, with an AQI of 186.
This drop in temperature was welcomed, as the city had felt the heat creeping in on Thursday, recording a high of 35.8 degrees Celsius.
Friday began with a warm morning, where the minimum temperature was recorded at 20.4 degrees Celsius, 5.3 degrees above normal, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Data by station showed that Ridge recorded the highest maximum temperature at 33.8 degrees Celsius, 3.6 degrees above normal, followed by Lodi Road at 33 degrees Celsius, 4 degrees above normal.
Ayanagar recorded 32.8 degrees Celsius, 2.8 degrees above normal, and Palam recorded a maximum temperature of 31.5 degrees Celsius, 2.1 degrees Celsius above normal.
For Saturday, the weather office has forecast a partly clear sky, with the maximum temperature expected to settle around 33 degrees Celsius.
On the air quality front, the city's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 189.
According to the CPCB's SAMEER app, during the evening hours, 15 stations were categorized as 'poor', while 31 stations fell into the 'moderate' category.
The CPCB classifies an AQI of 0 to 50 as 'good', 51 to 100 as 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 as 'moderate', 201 to 300 as 'poor', 301 to 400 as 'very poor', and 401 to 500 as 'severe'.
In the morning hours, the air quality was also recorded in the ‘moderate’ category at 9 am, with an AQI reading of 184, CPCB data showed.
On the minimum temperature front, Safdarjung recorded 20.4 degrees Celsius, 5.3 degrees above the season's normal, while Lodhi Road recorded 19.2 degrees Celsius, 5.2 degrees above normal.
Ridge station reported a minimum of 19 degrees Celsius, while Ayanagar recorded a minimum temperature of 19.8 degrees Celsius.