Delhi-NCR Weather: Delhi residents woke up to cloudy skies on Saturday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting light to moderate rain and issuing a yellow alert for the day.

According to the IMD, "Generally cloudy sky is expected to persist. One or two spells of very light to light rain at most places is expected, with moderate rain at few places during morning to forenoon, accompanied by thunderstorm, lightning and strong winds of speed 30-40kmph; even gusting to 50 kmph might occur," an IMD official said, adding that another spell of rain is possible between afternoon and evening hours.

The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 33 degrees Celsius. Data released by the IMD showed Safdarjung recording a minimum temperature of 23.2 degrees C (0.7 degrees below normal and down one degree from the previous day). Palam recorded 20.5 degrees C (3.4 degrees below normal), Lodhi Road 22.8 degrees C, Ayanagar 22.8 degrees C, and Ridge 18.8 degrees C (4.9 degrees below normal).

Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) of the city remained in the ''satisfactory'' category on Saturday morning and was recorded at 71 at 9 am, as compared to the 24-hour average AQI of 78 (satisfactory) recorded at 4pm on Friday, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

As per CPCB standards, an AQI of 0-50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor", and 401-500 "severe".

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UP Weather: Heavy Rain In Several Districts

Heavy rain lashed several parts of Uttar Pradesh as monsoon activity intensified, with Lucknow recording 125.8 mm of rainfall in the 21 hours leading up to Saturday morning and strong winds damaging standing crops in rural areas.

The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and gusty winds across eastern Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, with conditions likely to continue on Sunday.

The system is likely to remain a depression while moving towards southeast Uttar Pradesh till Saturday evening and subsequently weaken gradually into a well-marked low-pressure area during the following 12 hours.

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These areas will witness heavy rain and are vulnerable to sudden flooding, including Azamgarh, Ballia, Ghazipur, Mau, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Balrampur, Ambedkar Nagar, Pratapgarh, Sultanpur, Ayodhya, Gonda, Shravasti, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Hardoi, Lucknow, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Barabanki, Amethi, Fatehpur, Kanpur Nagar, Banda, Kaushambi and Chitrakoot.

The IMD has warned that intense rainfall could trigger flash floods in some watersheds of Uttar Pradesh. People have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel during thunderstorms and lightning and stay away from open areas, trees and water bodies.