Bright, scalding day ends in thunderstorms, gusty winds in Delhi

The rain also led to a delay in the toss during the IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Feroz Shah Kotla

Parts of the Capital recorded light rain and gusty winds on Thursday evening, with some isolated hailstorm activity reported in Vasant Kunj, Met officials said.

So far this month, Delhi has received 20.1mm of rainfall, which is already higher than the normal monthly mark of 16.3mm. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 36.3 degrees Celsius (°C) on Thursday — one degree below normal — down from 38.2°C a day earlier.

The windspeed touched 60kmph around 6.30pm at Palam, leading to two flights being diverted from the Indira Gandhi International airport to Jaipur. India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said while only “trace” rainfall was recorded at Palam till 5.30pm, the station recorded another 3.8mm of rainfall over the next three hours, while Safdarjung recorded 0.5mm between 5.30 and 8.30pm.

“During the day, there were some clouds, but as moisture gradually came in towards Delhi, thunder clouds began to form towards the evening due to high temperature. This brought isolated hail to NCR, gusty winds that touched 60kmph at Palam and some light rain,” Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD, said, adding the clouds covered large parts of the Capital by the evening.

The rain also led to a delay in the toss during the IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Feroz Shah Kotla.

While Safdarjung, which is representational of Delhi’s weather, recorded a maximum of 36.3°C on Thursday, the highest maximum was 37.8°C at Sports Complex, followed by 37.6°C at Najafgarh. Mercury has dipped in most parts of Delhi by 2-3 degrees in the last 48 hours. Met officials said while no rain was recorded on Wednesday, there were clouds over the Capital, which led to the mercury dropping below the 40-degree mark.

In terms of minimum temperature, Delhi recorded a low of 23.4°C, which is two notches above normal. It was 23.6°C a day earlier. IMD forecasts no rain for Delhi in the coming days, with the maximum to gradually rise to 38°C by the weekend again. “We will still see cloudiness persist on Friday, and as this cloudiness starts to go away on the weekend, we will see the maximum return to around 38°C by the weekend and around 39 to 40°C by Tuesday,” a met official said.

So far this month, Delhi has received 20.1mm of rainfall, which is already higher than the normal monthly mark of 16.3mm. March too had seen excess rainfall, with the Capital receiving 53.2mm of rainfall as compared to the normal monthly average of 17.4mm. Delhi had received zero rainfall in February, which was drier and warmer than usual.

In terms of air quality, Delhi recorded a “moderate” Air Quality Index (AQI) reading at 159 again, owing to improved ventilation from strong winds in the last 24 hours. The Capital recorded an AQI of 236 (poor) according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s daily bulletin on Wednesday.

The CPCB classifies an AQI reading between 0-50 as “good”, between 51 and 100 as “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 as “moderate”, between 201 and 300 as “poor”, between 301 and 400 as “very poor” and over 400 as “severe”. Forecasts show Delhi’s AQI is likely to remain in the “moderate” range till Sunday now.