IMD predicts light rain, humid conditions in Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) The minimum temperature dipped slightly in the national capital on Saturday, even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert predicting light rain, along with hot and humid conditions. The city's prime weather monitoring station at Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 30.2 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal and a 0.8 degree decrease from the day before. Among the other weather stations, Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 28.8 degrees Celsius, a 0.3 degree decrease from the day before, and Lodhi Road recorded a minimum of 29.2 degrees Celsius, 0.9 degree less than Friday's minimum. The Ayanagar station recorded a minimum temperature of 29.4 degrees Celsius. The IMD has issued a yellow alert for both Saturday and Sunday. "There is a possibility of very light to light rain at isolated places accompanied by strong surface winds with speeds of 20-30 kilometres per hour, gusting to 40 kilometres per hour during the morning or forenoon hours of Saturday. Hot and humid conditions are likely to persist," said an IMD official, adding that similar conditions are likely to continue on Sunday. According to the IMD forecast, the maximum temperature is likely to be 36-38 degrees Celsius on Saturday. The air quality in the city remained in the 'moderate' category on Saturday morning. The Air Quality Index (AQI) reading stood at 173 at 9 am, as compared to the 24-hour average AQI of 177 (moderate) recorded at 4 pm on Friday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). As per the CPCB classification, 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 RUK RUK