New Delhi, May 18 (IANS): It was a hot Wednesday morning here with minimum temperature recorded at 26.4 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.

However, the day is expected to get warmed-up, with maximum temperature likely to hover at 44 degrees Celsius.

"The sky will remain clear. Dust storm and haze are likely to occur towards the evening and morning," an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 34 percent and visibility remained at 3,000 metres, the official said.

The maximum temperature on Tuesday settled at 43.3 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 28.6 degrees Celsius.

According to weather analysts, the mercury would continue rising in the national capital region for at least next three days due to dry winds from north-western direction.

"We are not expecting rains for at lest next three to four days. Last year, the monsoon reached Delhi by June 28, which mean it would only arrive by the end of June," private weather forecaster Skymet's director Mahesh Palawat told IANS.