Another rain spell keeps Delhi’s AQI, mercury low

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the India Meteorological Department’s regional weather forecasting centre, said that till 8.30am on Friday, the Safdarjung weather station, considered the official marker for the city, received 2.6mm rainfall.

The Capital woke up to a surprise spell of rain on Friday caused by a fresh western disturbance, weather officials said, a day after incessant showers broke the all-time 24-hour rainfall record for May.

A rickshaw driver looks for passengers along a street under a light rain shower in New Delhi on May 21, 2021. (AFP Photo)

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the India Meteorological Department’s regional weather forecasting centre, said that till 8.30am on Friday, the Safdarjung weather station, considered the official marker for the city, received 2.6mm rainfall. The Palam observatory received 5.8mm rainfall, the Lodi Road station received 3.2mm, and Aya Nagar got 10.6mm.

Weather officials said several parts of Delhi saw rain between 5am and 10am. However, Srivastava said that while Wednesday and Thursday’s showers were under the impact of cyclonic storm Tauktae, Friday’s rain was caused by a fresh western disturbance that passed over the Capital.

“The residual clouds of Tauktae cyclonic storm have passed. What we saw on Friday was the impact of a fresh western disturbance. There could be some light rain in the early morning hours in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) over the weekend. But temperatures will rise now,” said Srivastava.

The rain and the gusty winds on Friday kept Delhi’s air quality in the “satisfactory” category for the third consecutive day. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recordings showed that the city’s overall air quality index (AQI) was 85. On Thursday, Delhi recorded an AQI of 58, also “satisfactory”.

On Friday, IMD recordings showed that the maximum temperature at the Safdarjung observatory was 33.1 degrees Celsius, seven degrees below normal.

The minimum temperature was 19.4°C, also seven degrees below normal.

Met officials, however, said the temperature is expected to touch 39°C by May 29.

Delhi, between Wednesday and Thursday, recorded the highest rainfall to ever be recorded in 24 hours in the month of May. On Wednesday-Thursday, Safdarjung weather station recorded 119.3 mm rainfall, induced by Cyclone Tauktae’s after-effects.

Monsoon likely to keep May 31 date with Kerala

The monsoon advanced into some parts of southwest and most parts of southeast Bay of Bengal, and South Andaman Sea and Nicobar Islands on Friday, a day ahead of its normal onset date of May 22, said IMD.

“Monsoon is likely to make an onset over Kerala around May 31, one to two days here or there,” Sunitha Devi, in charge of cyclones at IMD, said.