Stronger winds, more rain likely today: IMD

Safdarjung, which is considered to be representational for the city’s weather, recorded a maximum temperature of 39.3 degrees Celsius (°C) on Sunday – a degree below normal for this time of the year and three lower than Saturday’s maximum.

Temperatures across Delhi dipped further on Sunday as cloudy skies and strong easterly winds kept the Capital’s maximum under check, in what has been some respite from the punishing heatwaves over the past few weeks.

Delhi rains finally made an appearance giving residents a reason to rejoice. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

Safdarjung, which is considered to be representational for the city’s weather, recorded a maximum temperature of 39.3 degrees Celsius (°C) on Sunday – a degree below normal for this time of the year and three lower than Saturday’s maximum.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an ‘orange’ alert for Monday, with a fresh western disturbance expected to bring a ‘squall’ over Delhi, with winds touching 60km/hr, accompanied by light rain and thunderstorms, which will pull the mercury down even further.

RK Jenamani, scientist at IMD, said this western disturbance will keep heatwave conditions in the region at bay till May 28.

“An orange alert has been issued, warning of strong winds and thunderstorm activity. This western disturbance is more active [than the one on Saturday] and will cause strong winds of up to 60 km/hr, while bringing light rain over Delhi. This will be a significant spell of rain,” he said.

The city got no rain between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Sunday, but some areas recorded a drizzle late on Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday, with Safdarjung receiving 0.8mm of precipitation between 8.30am on Saturday and 8.30am on Sunday, IMD data showed. Palam recorded 2mm of rainfall till 8.30am on Sunday, while Lodhi road recorded 0.9mm of rainfall.

Once again, Mungeshpur was the hottest part of Delhi on Sunday, with a maximum temperature of 41.9°C.

With this 0.8mm of rainfall, Safdarjung has now received 3mm of rainfall so far this month, as compared to a normal mark of 13.1mm until May 22. The normal mark for May overall is 19.7mm. The IMD says light rain on Monday and very light rain on Tuesday will add more to this month’s tally.

The city logged a minimum temperature of 23.1°C – three degrees below normal.

The met department classifies rainfall as ‘light’ when it is between 2.5 and 15.5mm, while it is ‘very light’ when it is between ‘trace’ and 2.4mm.

The Met’s Monday forecast shows that the maximum temperature will be around 37°C respectively, while the minimum will be around the 27°C mark. Wind speeds are expected to be between 50 and 60 km/hr, accompanied by thundershowers. On Tuesday, the maximum and minimum will be around 37°C and 26°C respectively, with very light rain expected. The winds on Tuesday are likely to range between 30 and 40 km/hr, the IMD said.