New Delhi, April 4 The national capital saw a slight increase in the minimum temperature on Saturday, even as isolated parts of the city received light rain overnight.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for rain, thunderstorms, and possible gusty winds of 30-40 kmph for the day.
The weather station at Safdarjung, the city's primary station, did not receive any rain; other stations like Palam received 1.9 mm of rain between 11.30 pm on Friday and 2.30 am on Saturday.
Lodhi Road received 0.3 mm of rain around the same time; Ridge recorded 1.9 mm; Ayanagar recorded 5.8 mm; and Pitampura received 0.5 mm during the same period.
No further rain was recorded until 8.30 am, according to IMD data.
The minimum temperature rose to 20.7 degrees Celsius, 1.9 degrees above normal, and 1.5 degrees higher than the previous day.
IMD officials explained that this was due to cloud cover, which caused the Earth's surface to cool slowly at night.
Delhi's air quality saw a significant improvement due to the fresh showers. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 177 (moderate) at 9 am on Saturday, compared to the 24-hour average AQI of 266 (poor) recorded on Friday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
According to 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."
The Air Quality Early Warning System (AQEWS) for Delhi has forecast the AQI to remain in the moderate category for the next few days.