New Delhi: Light rain hit parts of Delhi on Sunday, bringing down the maximum temperature 10 notches below the season's average to 28.7 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The IMD's Safdarjung observatory recorded 0.3 mm rainfall while those at Palam and Lodhi Road reported traces between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm.


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The national capital recorded a minimum temperature of 22.8 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average.


The relative humidity oscillated between 71 and 56 per cent, the IMD said.


The weather office has forecast generally cloudy skies for Monday with very light rain and thundershowers, accompanied by gusty winds reaching speeds up to 25-35 kilometres per hour.


The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 28 and 21 degrees Celsius, respectively, the IMD added.


On Saturday, the minimum temperature settled at 22.2 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature was recorded at 33. 1 degrees.


With no heatwave and highest rainfall since 2017, Delhi saw pleasant weather in April 


Delhi experienced cooler temperatures in April compared to the intense heat it faced in the month last year, with frequent western disturbances leading to more rainfall and below-normal average maximum temperature. The city recorded an average maximum temperature of 35.32 degrees Celsius in April, equal to that logged in the month in 2020, and the lowest since 2015 (34.5 degrees Celsius), according to the IMD.


On average, the city logs a maximum temperature of 36.5 degrees Celsius in April.


On Sunday, the national capital registered a maximum temperature of 28.7 degrees Celsius, the lowest in the month since April 4, 2015, when the mercury settled at 26 degrees Celsius.


At the beginning of April, the IMD had predicted above-normal temperatures in most parts of the country barring some parts of northwest India.


The primary weather station in the national capital, Safdarjung Observatory, also did not log any heatwave day.


Last year, the city saw nine heatwave days in April, including four in the first 10 days, the highest in the month since 2010.


Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre, said five western disturbances (WDs), including two strong ones, kept temperatures in check in northwest India, including Delhi.


Usually, Delhi records three to four WDs, which are one of the primary sources of precipitation in the pre-monsoon season (March to May) in northwest India, in April.


The WDs yielded 20.1 mm of rainfall in Delhi in the month, the highest after 26.9 mm recorded in 2017.


Srivastava said another WD will start influencing weather in the plains of northwest starting Monday.


The IMD had on Friday said that northwest India is likely to record below-normal maximum temperature and heat wave days in May.