India's heartland sizzles as mercury soars (Lead)

New Delhi, April 2 : It was a hot and sunny Sunday morning in the national capital with the minimum temperature recorded at 23.9 degrees Celsius, five notches above the season's average.

Saturday's maximum temperature inched closer to 40 degrees Celsius and was recorded 39.4 degrees Celsius, six notches above the season's average. 

The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 38 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

Meanwhile, parts of north, west and central India recorded temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday due to heatwave conditions.

While Churu was hottest with 42 degrees Celsius, Jaipur recorded 40.3 degrees Celsius, Bikaner sizzled at 41.2 degrees Celsius, Ahmedabad at 40.1 degrees Celsius, Barmer witnessed 41.4 degrees Celsius and Agra recorded 40.9 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

Indian Metrological Department predicted similar conditions on Sunday with temperatures expected to rise by a notch at several places.