Delhi is set for an unusually cool start to June, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting light rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds across the city till Friday, keeping daytime temperatures below the 40°C mark for at least the next six days and winds of 40-50 kmph sweeping the city.On Monday, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 36.3°C. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)According to the IMD’s forecast, the maximum temperature is likely to remain between 36°C and 39°C through the week, below the normal maximum temperature of 40°C for June 1-9. Cloudy skies are expected to persist over the coming days.The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Thursday, forecasting cloudy skies, a spell of very light to light rain accompanied by thunderstorms, and winds of 40-50 kmph gusting up to 60 kmph during the afternoon or evening.While similar weather conditions are expected on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, no alerts have been issued for those days so far. The maximum temperature is expected to rise marginally later in the week, reaching 37°C-39°C by Sunday. No rain is forecast for Saturday, while Sunday is expected to see mainly clear skies.“This is a part of pre-monsoon activities, which occur during April, May, and the first half of June. The rain is an effect of a western disturbance, which has led to a cyclonic circulation over Pakistan, Punjab, and Haryana. The same weather will continue for the next four or five days; however, we are expecting the temperature to rise after this week,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president at Skymet Weather.On Monday, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 36.3°C, nearly 4°C below normal, and a minimum of 24.9°C, about 2°C below the normal minimum temperature of 26.9°C for the period between June 1 and June 4. Although the IMD had issued a yellow alert for rain on Monday, no precipitation was recorded at any of its weather stations till 5.30pm.Delhi witnessed a similar start to June last year, with the mercury not crossing the 40°C mark until June 8, when the maximum temperature reached 42.1°C. In contrast, 2024 saw a much hotter beginning to the month, with maximum temperatures of 42.8°C on June 1 and 2, followed by a heatwave on June 3 when the mercury climbed to 44.6°C.Recent rainfall has also improved the city’s air quality. The 24-hour average AQI dropped to 85 on May 30 and 98 on May 31, both in the “satisfactory” category. On Monday, it rose marginally to 105, placing it in the “moderate” category.According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor” and 401-500 “severe”.