Cloud cover keeps Delhi’s maximum temperature in check

Delhi sees temperature drop by 5°C due to rain and winds, with forecast of more rain and storms. Air quality improves after rain on Wednesday.

New Delhi: Delhi’s maximum temperature on Friday was almost 5°C lower than that of Thursday, due to rain and strong winds in multiple parts of the city the previous day. The capital recorded a maximum temperature of 35.8°C, compared to Thursday’s maximum of 40.5°C.

Tourists enjoy pleasant weather under blue skies at the Red Fort on Friday (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

While the Indian Meteorological Department had forecast multiple spells of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds for Friday and issued a yellow alert, none of the IMD weather stations recorded rain until 5:30 p.m. A few places in Delhi reported small amounts of rain between 12:00 am and 8:30 am, including Palam which saw 2.9mm of rain, and Pitampura, Pusa, and Mayur Vihar, which each saw 0.5mm of rain. Safdarjung recorded only 0.1mm of rain.

The city’s minimum temperature also dipped by almost 4°C on Thursday, recorded at 26°C, compared to Wednesday’s minimum of 29.7°C.

Very light to light rain along with thunderstorms and strong winds have been forecast for Saturday as well, during the afternoon or evening, due to which the temperature is expected to remain in check during the weekend as well, with the maximum expected to remain between 35°C to 38°C, while the minimum may take a further dip to fall between 24°C to 26°C.

Partly cloudy skies are expected till Sunday, while the IMD has forecast mainly clear skies from Monday, June 8, onwards. The forecasts for Tuesday to Thursday state “Mainly clear sky, strong surface winds speed racing 20-30kmph during the day.” The maximum temperature is expected to reach 39°C to 41°C by Tuesday, and remain within the same range till Thursday.

Wednesday’s rain also helped improve the city’s air quality, with the city’s 24-hour average AQI being recorded at 131 at 4:00pm, in the “moderate” category. So far in June, the daily average AQI had been consistently rising, from 105 to 106 on the first two days, followed by an almost 40 point jump to an average of 143 on June 3, and another 21 point rise to an average of 164 on June 4.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor” and 401-500 “severe”.