Scattered pre-dawn rain in Delhi; IMD warns of hot, humid weather on Thursday

New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) Delhi witnessed light showers in a few areas in the early hours of Wednesday, but the respite was short-lived as sultry weather returned, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a yellow alert for hot and humid conditions ahead. Safdarjung, the city's primary weather station, recorded a high of 38.4 degrees Celsius, 3.2 notches above normal and 0.2 degree lower than Tuesday, while the minimum settled at 29.1 degrees Celsius, 1.9 notches above normal and 0.7 degree higher than the previous day. The station recorded a trace of rainfall between 2.30 am and 5.30 am on Wednesday. No further rain was recorded during the day, according to IMD data. At Palam, the maximum temperature was 37.6 degrees Celsius, 2.4 notches above normal and 0.8 degree lower than Tuesday, while the minimum was 24.2 degrees Celsius, down 2.6 degrees from the previous day. Lodhi Road recorded a high of 38.3 degrees Celsius and a low of 28.4 degrees Celsius, 0.3 degree and 0.2 degree higher than Tuesday, respectively. Ridge and Ayanagar recorded minimum temperatures of 26.4 degrees Celsius and 26.6 degrees Celsius, respectively. Ayanagar and Najafgarh each recorded 1 mm of rainfall between 11.30 pm on Tuesday and 2.30 am on Wednesday. No rainfall was recorded at any weather station in the city after that period. The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Thursday. "A yellow alert has been issued for Thursday, as hot and humid conditions are likely in isolated parts of the city," an IMD official said. According to the IMD forecast, the maximum temperature on Thursday is likely to remain between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius, while the minimum is expected to be between 27 and 29 degrees Celsius. Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, said northwest India, including Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, is likely to remain largely dry over the next few days, with only isolated light rain. "The monsoon trough is expected to start shifting southwards over the Indo-Gangetic Plain after July 20. During that time, the monsoon may revive over northwest India as well as parts of central India," Palawat said. Meanwhile, Delhi's air quality remained in the "moderate" category. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 159 at 4 pm on Wednesday, improving from 172 recorded at the same time on Tuesday, according to 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 PTI AHD NB