- Residents in Delhi experienced light rain, offering brief relief from intense heat in NCR
- IMD attributed the rain to thunderstorm activity over northwest India, but forecast rising temperatures
- Delhi recorded 43.3 degrees Celsius on Friday amid heatwave conditions
Residents in Delhi and nearby areas woke up to rain and thunderstorms this morning, getting much-awaited relief from a spell of intense heat that prevailed over the National Capital Region (NCR) for weeks.
The weather body, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said the rain relief was because of thunderstorm activity over northwest India.
Wind speeds during the dust storm and thunderstorm activity were recorded at up to 81 kmph at Pusa Road, 56 kmph at Palam and 35 kmph at Pragati Maidan. Visibility at Palam airport also dropped from 3,500 metres to 1,500 metres within an hour.
The temperatures, however, are expected to rise again from tomorrow.
Temperatures in the capital hovered above 43 degrees Celsius on Friday. Safdarjung, the city's base weather station, recorded a maximum of 43.3 degrees Celsius, 3.1 notches above normal and 0.3 degrees lower than the previous day.
The minimum temperature settled at 29.3 degrees Celsius, 2.6 notches above normal and 2.6 degrees lower than the previous night.
For today, the IMD had forecast a minimum temperature of 28 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 44 degrees Celsius, with an alert for heatwave conditions.
Heatwave Conditions To Continue In Delhi
The IMD has said that the heatwave conditions in the capital will continue till May 28.
"Till Thursday, winds were blowing from Rajasthan across the Thar Desert, making the air extremely dry and leading to a sharp spike in maximum temperatures. However, the wind direction has now changed, resulting in a slight dip in temperatures on Friday," Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather told the news agency PTI on Friday.
Photo Credit: ANI
"There is also a forecast of very light rain or thunderstorms at isolated places due to a cyclonic circulation over Pakistan and adjoining Punjab and Haryana, though it is unlikely to have any significant impact on daytime temperatures as the activity is expected during the evening and early morning hours," he said.
He said temperatures are likely to rise again thereafter, with the mercury expected to touch the 45 degrees Celsius mark and heatwave conditions returning as winds are likely to shift back towards the Thar Desert region.
From early June, pre-monsoon activity is expected, which could bring some respite to residents, Palawat said.
(With agency inputs)
