Delhi may hit 46°C before rain brings relief from Thursday

New Delhi: Parts of Delhi are likely to see the mercury touch 46°C on Wednesday, but relief may follow soon, with rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds expected from Thursday under the influence of a western disturbance.Air quality, which slipped to the ‘very poor’ category on Monday night due to dust intrusion, improved slightly on Tuesday as winds picked up. The AQI was 304 at 9 am, improved to 295 by 11 am and further to 254 by 4 pm, placing it in the ‘poor’ category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.IMD said the maximum temperature at Safdarjung — the city’s base station — was 43.5°C on Tuesday, three degrees above normal and unchanged from Monday. Ayanagar was the hottest at 44.8°C, followed by Ridge at 44.6°C.Despite the high temperatures, no station officially recorded heatwave conditions, though isolated pockets may see them as the maximum is expected to hover between 44°C and 46°C.The IMD defines a heatwave as a departure of 4.5°C or more above normal with the maximum at least 40°C, or when it reaches 45°C or above.“Heatwave conditions are very likely to prevail over the next 24 hours and are expected to abate thereafter due to the possibility of light rain with thunderstorm activity over Delhi during May 28-30,” an IMD official said, adding that temperatures may drop by 5-7°C after two days.The maximum is expected to fall to 35-37°C by Friday. A yellow alert has been issued for Thursday night and Friday for light rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds up to 60 kmph. While there is no colour-coded warning for the weekend, light rain is likely.Delhi has already witnessed two heatwave spells this season. Parts of the city recorded consecutive heatwave days from April 23-25, though Safdarjung reported one such day on April 25 (42.8°C). Another spell was seen from May 18-21 in some areas, with Safdarjung recording one heatwave day on May 19 (45.1°C).The minimum temperature on Tuesday was 26.8°C, near normal.