Delhi's maximum temperature rises, no rain for next few days

New Delhi, July 11 (PTI) Delhi’s maximum temperature rose on Saturday, with the Indian Meteorological Department forecasting cloudy skies and no significant rainfall for the next few days. Safdarjung, representative of the city's weather, recorded a maximum temperature of 35.7 degrees Celsius, 0.2 degree above normal but 2.4 degrees higher than Friday. The minimum temperature also marginally increased to 26.6 degrees Celsius, which was 0.7 degree below normal and 0.8 degree higher than a day before. Other weather stations also marked a similar increase in maximum and minimum temperatures. Palam’s maximum was at 36.3 degrees Celsius, 2.8 degrees more than Friday, while the minimum temperature settled at 24.5 degrees Celsius, a 0.1 degree increase from a day before. Lodhi Road recorded a maximum of 35.8 degrees Celsius, 2.6 degrees above the previous day, while the minimum reached 26.2 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degree higher than Friday. Ridge and Ayanagar recorded a minimum of 23.5 degrees and 26 degrees Celsius respectively, which are 0.6 and 1.4 degrees lower than Friday. The IMD issued no rainfall alerts for the coming days, while the national capital remained rain-free throughout the day. "Mostly cloudy skies are expected to persist for the next few days," said an IMD official. According to the IMD, the maximum temperature might rise on Sunday and is likely to be around 37-39 degrees Celsius. The minimum is likely to be around 26-28 degrees. Meanwhile, the city’s air quality index (AQI) deteriorated to the moderate category on Saturday and the 24-hour average AQI was recorded at 140 (moderate) at 4 pm, compared to the 24-hour average AQI of 65 (satisfactory) recorded at the same time 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'. PTI AHD KSI KSI