Delhi reeled under sultry weather conditions on Thursday as rains continued to play truant.
The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded a maximum temperature of 39.1 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal. The minimum temperature settled at 30 degrees Celsius.
Moderate rainfall on Saturday may bring down the temperature to 33 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.
Though the monsoon arrived in the capital in an impressive manner on June 30, giving the city its first spell of heavy rainfall this season, scanty precipitation in the subsequent days has led to a gradual rise in the maximum temperature.
"A low-pressure area had developed over Odisha and traveled to Gujarat. It had pulled the trough towards central India, leading to heavy rainfall there," said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather.
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The weather system has now moved to south Pakistan and started degenerating.
The western end of the monsoon trough will again shift towards the north. A cyclonic circulation is also developing over central Pakistan. It could result in heavy rainfall at some places in Punjab and Haryana on Saturday and Sunday, he said.
Delhi-NCR, west Uttar Pradesh, and northwest Rajasthan are also expected to receive good rainfall, the meteorologist said.
The Safdarjung Observatory has recorded just 2.6 mm of rainfall in the last six days.
It has gauged 144.3 mm of rainfall against a normal of 106.5 mm since June 1, when the monsoon season starts. Of this, 117.2 mm came in just 24 hours ending at 8:30 am on July 1.
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The weather department had earlier issued an orange alert for moderate rainfall on Wednesday which was later shifted to Thursday. However, the rain continued to elude the capital.
Delhi will see a generally cloudy sky and light rain till July 13, according to the IMD's latest forecast.
