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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNew Delhi: <\/span>The temperature continue to soar and Delhi saw its hottest day this season on Thursday when the maximum was 40.3 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal.The Met depatment expects the maximum will rise further.This is also the first time when the city\u2019s base station, Safdarjung, recorded temperatures above 40 degrees. Delhi\u2019s air quality remained poor, prompting CAQM to impose preventive measures under GRAP Stage-I.So far, the highest temperature recorded this year was 39.1 degrees Celsius, which was on Wednesday. Last April, city had seen 40-plus temperatures and three heat waves in the first half of April.India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the maximum is expected to reach 42 degrees Celsius on Friday. No heat wave<\/a> has been forecast for the next seven days.A heat wave is declared when the maximum temperature is above 40 degrees Celsius and is also 4.5 notches above the season\u2019s normal. Previously, April has seen even higher temperatures in Delhi. Last year, the city recorded 42.1\u00b0C on April 26, while the all-time April record is 45.6\u00b0C, set in 1941.So far, the minimum temperature has remained below normal. One reason is the partly cloudy sky, which is expected till Sunday, Weather forecasters expect a rise in the night temperature as well, signalling rise in thermal distress.The IMD has forecast \u201cgradual rise in the maximum temperature by 1-2\u00b0C in the next 24 hours, no large change for the subsequent three days and fall by 1-2\u00b0C, thereafter\u201d. The maximum is likely to be above normal to appreciably above normal in the next 7 days.A gradual rise in the minimum temperature by 2-3\u00b0C is expected \u201cin the next 24 hours, then a fall by 2\u00b0C in subsequent 24 hours and thereafter no large change\u201d, IMD has said.The Met has also forecast scattered thunder and rain in parts of the subdivision that includes Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi. However, temperatures are still expected to rise in Delhi.The maximum and minimum temperature on Friday are expected to hover around 40-42 degrees and 22-24 degrees Celsius.The Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded 226 on Thursday, which was higher than Wednesday\u2019s 204.Forecasts have placed the air quality between moderate and poor for the next seven days. However, an improvement to moderate is expected on Friday and Saturday.The CAQM has imposed GRAP Stage-1, which is not restrictive and imposed when AQI turns poor.\u201cThe sub-committee accordingly takes the call on invoking the 31-point action plan as per Stage-I of the extant GRAP in the entire NCR, to avoid further deterioration in the region… Actions under Stage-I… shall be implemented, monitored and reviewed by all the agencies concerned in entire NCR to ensure that the AQI levels do not slip further,\u201d CAQM said.The measures include increase mechanised sweeping of roads, enhanced frequency of public transport, strict vigilance on construction and demolition and Industrial emissions, among others.<\/div>\n