Rain lashed parts of national capital on Friday, bringing much needed relief from the intense heatwave sweeping the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).

The minimum temperature in Delhi on Friday settled at 28.4 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the season, the weather office said.

The India Meteorological Department has predicted partly cloudy conditions in the national capital on Saturday and Sunday. Such weather conditions are expected to further bring relief from simmering heatwave.

The maximum temperature in the national capital is likely to settle around 40 degrees Celsius, reported news agency PTI.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital on Friday was recorded in the “moderate” category with a reading of 173 at 1 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.