New Delhi

A day after monsoon arrived in Delhi, the city remained under cloudy skies on Friday, with the maximum temperature settling at 35.8 degrees Celsius, 1.6 notches below normal, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast light rain and thunderstorms over the weekend.

While Safdarjung, the city's base weather station, recorded a high of 35.8, Palam recorded a maximum temperature of 36.1 degrees Celsius, 1.7 notches below normal; Lodhi Road logged 35.8 degrees Celsius, 0.2 notches below normal; Ridge recorded 36.9 degrees Celsius, 0.2 notches above normal; while Ayanagar registered 35.3 degrees Celsius, 2.8 notches below normal.

Despite the lower-than-normal maximum temperature, the ‘feels-like’ temperature was 46.2 degrees Celsius, indicating muggy conditions due to high humidity. The IMD said the relative humidity was 83 per cent in the morning at 8.30 am and 73 per cent in the evening at 5.30 pm.

The IMD said thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and very light to light rainfall are likely during the night.

Meanwhile, the national capital is likely to witness light to very light rainfall over the coming week, an IMD scientist said.

Over the weekend and the coming week, cloudy conditions are expected to prevail, accompanied with thunderstorm activity. "Light thunderstorm activity is (also) expected, with wind speeds that could range from 30–40 kmph up to 50–60 kmph. Rainfall activity might be on the higher side on the 5th of July," IMD scientist Akhil Srivastava said.

Earlier in the day, Delhi woke up to cloudy skies, with the minimum temperature settling at 28.1 degrees Celsius, 0.2 notch above normal, at the Safdarjung observatory.

Station-wise, Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 25.9 degrees Celsius, 1.9 notches below normal; Lodhi Road logged 28.0 degrees Celsius, 1.0 notch above normal; Ridge recorded 24.6 degrees Celsius, 0.9 notch below normal; while Ayanagar registered 25.8 degrees Celsius, 1.0 notch below normal.

ALSO READ: Amarnath Yatra: Celebration of spirit and souvenir of civilisation

Meanwhile, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 107, in the 'moderate' category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor", and 401-500 "severe".