With no western disturbances currently active, day temperatures are set to rise gradually across the country, crossing 40°C over the next few days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.In Delhi, the mercury is expected to touch 42°C by April 18.“Maximum temperatures are likely to remain above normal over northwest, central and east India during the week. Heatwave conditions and hot and humid weather are likely over isolated pockets of central, east, west and south India,” the IMD said.The highest maximum temperature of 44°C was recorded at Akola in Maharashtra and Kalaburagi in Karnataka on Wednesday, while the lowest minimum temperature of 14.5°C was reported from Gurdaspur in Punjab.A fresh, weak western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region from the night of April 16, bringing moderate rainfall to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh between April 16 and 19. Isolated rainfall is also expected over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on April 17.The IMD said maximum temperatures are likely to rise by 3–4°C over northwest India between April 15 and 18, and by 2–3°C over central India between April 15 and 20. Northeast India is also expected to witness a rise in temperatures by April 16.Heatwave conditions are likely over parts of Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha in Maharashtra, north interior Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Telangana during the week. Hot and humid conditions are expected in Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, coastal Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka and Kerala.