There seems no relief for Delhites, as weather stations in the Capital recorded the third consecutive warm night, the eighth heatwave day in a row, and the 35th day since the peak temperature last went below 40°C as an unusually hot and dry summer tightened its grip, smothering the metropolis and adjoining regions in conditions for which the Met office issued a red alert.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted no relief for the beginning of the week and issued a red alert for Monday, which warned of "very high likelihood of developing heat illness and heat stroke in all ages" if people did not take precautions to limit their exposure.

It is only on Thursday that some relief may arrive in the form of thunderstorm and light rain from an approaching western disturbance.

An IMD official said Delhi is recording strong, but dry westerly to northwesterly winds, with partially cloudy skies at night. "At night, when we normally see respite from the heat, we are still seeing these westerly winds prevail. We also have some cloudiness, which traps that heat," said the official, forecasting a drop in maximum to only by June 20.

These conditions come a little over a fortnight before the monsoon rains are expected to arrive, although the system has - as it often does - stalled. The monsoon has not progressed since June 11, according to bulletins issued by IMD, having reached parts of central India.

On Sunday, Safdarjung, representative of Delhi's weather, recorded a maximum temperature of 44.9°C on Sunday, six degrees above normal for this time of the year. It was 44.6°C a day earlier. Delhi's minimum was recorded at 33.2°C, which was also six degrees above normal.

Sunday was the third consecutive day a "warm night" was recorded.

Among all NCR stations, Pitampura in northwest Delhi recorded the highest maximum, at 47.3°C. It also had the highest minimum, at 35.7°C.

IMD has forecast Delhi's maximum to hover around 44-45°C till Wednesday, before dipping to 42°C on Thursday. Delhi's minimum may rise even further in the next few days though, with the approaching western disturbance likely to increase cloudiness further, particularly at night-time.