Storm rains relief on Delhi, but heat will return soon
Delhiites enjoy evening rain at Qutub Minar on Monday. The downpour brought much-needed respite to the scorched city.
The skies opened up over Delhi on Monday afternoon, bringing cheer to residents who had been braving high mercury levels for more than two weeks in a row.
While the temperature stood at 40.6 degrees Celsius at 2.30 pm, the rain brought it down to 27.2 degrees Celsius two hours later – a difference of 13.4 degrees Celsius.
The cheer, however, is expected to be short-lived. Experts said the heat wave would resume on Wednesday, taking the temperature beyond the 40-degrees Celsius mark.
The sudden showers – on the flip side – caused traffic jams in parts of central and south Delhi, including Khan Market, ITO, Ashram intersection, Mathura Road, Sri Aurobindo Marg, Connaught Place and the India Gate roundabout.
The rain was preceded by a dust storm with a wind speed of 50-60 km/hr, which affected flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). “Visibility at the airport fell from 4,000 metres to 600 metres between 3.10 pm and 3.45 pm. Flight operations were affected in that period,” said RK Jenamani, director of the IGIA Met unit.
See in pics | Delhiites get a respite from scorching heat as rains drench city
The dust storm also caused trees to collapse on electricity lines in many places across the city, resulting in power outages.
The weather department recorded 6.2 mm of rainfall, caused due to local convection and easterly winds. Prior to that, the maximum temperature had settled at 40.9 degrees Celsius – one notch above normal.
The city is likely to experience light rain and thundershowers on Tuesday too, with the temperature hovering between 25 and 38 degrees Celsius.
Also read | Biker crushed to death in Noida as billboard falls during storm