Delhi's maximum temperature dips below 40 degrees Celsius

New Delhi: Delhi's maximum temperature dipped below 40 degrees Celsius, the weather office said on Tuesday.

The Safdarjung observatory, the national capital's primary weather station, recorded a temperature of 39.7 degrees Celsius, 2.5 notches above normal.

Delhi had been reeling from sweltering heat, recording nine heatwave days in June so far against none in 2023 and 2022. In 2021, the national capital recorded one heatwave day in June, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.

The maximum temperature has fallen below 40 degrees Celsius following a western disturbance in northwest India.

On Tuesday, the relative humidity oscillated between 51 per cent and 76 per cent, according to the IMD bulletin.

The heat index forecast for the next 48 hours is 48 to 50.

The weather office defines heat index as a combination of air temperature and relative humidity. It measures how hot it really feels when relative humidity is factored in with the actual air temperature. This is also sometimes referred to as apparent temperature and can be understood as the temperature the body perceives.

For Wednesday, the Met office has forecast generally cloudy skies with very light rain or thunderstorms, accompanied by gusty winds reaching speeds between 25 and 35 kilometres per hour.

The national capital will be on a 'yellow' alert during the next seven days.

The IMD has four colour-coded warnings -- 'green' (no action needed), 'yellow' (watch and stay updated), 'orange' (be prepared) and 'red' (take action).

The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 38 and 28 degrees Celsius, respectively.