NEW DELHI: Delhi recorded its warmest May night in nearly 14 years as continuing to experience intense heat on Monday, with maximum temperatures rising above 43°C, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).At Safdarjung, the city’s base station, the maximum temperature settled at 43.5°C, about 3.3°C above normal. The minimum temperature was recorded at 32.4°C, which is 5.7°C above the seasonal average.The IMD said this was the highest minimum temperature, or the warmest night in May, since May 26, 2012, when it was 32.5°C. Similar conditions were also seen earlier this month when the minimum temperature touched 31.9°C on May 21, according to IMD data.“Light rain, high wind speed leading up to 70 kmph and dust storms can be expected in parts of the city during the late evening hours,” weather experts said.Palam recorded a maximum temperature of 44°C, while Lodhi Road saw 43.2°C. Ridge station reported 44.3°C and Ayanagar 44°C, all above normal levels.On the minimum side, Palam recorded 30.5°C, Lodhi Road 30°C, Ridge 30.6°C and Ayanagar 32°C, all significantly above average.An IMD official said, “Warm night conditions have been realised over Safdarjung, Lodi Road and Ayanagar.”The IMD defines a warm night when the maximum temperature is 40°C or more and the minimum temperature is 4.5°C to 6.4°C above normal.For Tuesday, the weather department has forecast a maximum temperature of around 44°C and a minimum of about 30°C, along with a yellow alert for heatwave conditions.Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet Weather, said, “The weather disturbance will move away from the region from today, and weather conditions are expected to clear up from tomorrow. As a result, maximum temperatures are likely to rise while minimum temperatures may fall.”He added, “From tomorrow till May 28, we can expect high daytime temperatures. Thereafter, another western disturbance over central Pakistan and adjoining Punjab and Haryana may trigger pre-monsoon rainfall activity again.”Palawat also noted that high humidity and haze may have contributed to trapped pollutants, worsening air quality conditions.“There is a lot of humidity and haze in the air, because of which pollutants could have gotten trapped. This could also be a reason for the high pollution levels. These conditions are expected to reduce from tomorrow onwards, leading to lower minimum temperatures and higher maximum temperatures during the daytime,” he said.Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 254 at 4 pm on Monday, placing it in the ‘poor’ category, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0-50 is ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.