Dust storm, rain bring down mercury in Capital

According to IMD data, the minimum temperature in Delhi on Friday was recorded at 20.2 degree Celsius – two degrees below normal – and the maximum temperature was around 40 degree Celsius – three degrees above normal.

A dust storm and light rain hit parts of Delhi-NCR, bringing down the temperature and affecting visibility in some areas, officials from India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Officials also forecast light rain on Saturday, which they said will bring down the temperature by two to three degrees.

Temperatures fell by two to three degrees after the thunderstorm. (Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times)

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said that the sudden thunderstorm and light rain on Friday was the result of a western disturbance.

“Strong winds with speed up to 70-80 kmph prevailed today (Friday)... light rain was also reported from some places. The weather activity on account of the western disturbance will reduce and only cloudiness is expected on Saturday,” said Srivastava.

A western disturbance is a storm originating in the Mediterranean region that brings sudden rain to the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent.

According to IMD data, the minimum temperature in Delhi on Friday was recorded at 20.2 degree Celsius – two degrees below normal – and the maximum temperature was around 40 degree Celsius – three degrees above normal.

The weekly IMD forecast says it may rain in Delhi on Saturday as well.

“The dust storm in Delhi was mainly due to local convective activity associated with a western disturbance that impacted the western Himalayan region. PM 10 (coarse particulate matter) concentrations have increased significantly following dust raising winds in the region. But our models are showing PM 10 levels will come back to the moderate category by night,” said Vijay Soni, a scientist at IMD’s air quality division, referring to the dust pollution caused by the strong winds.

Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category on Friday, with data from Central Pollution Control Board showing that the 24-hour air quality index (AQI) stood at 238. The Union ministry of earth science’s air quality monitoring centre, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), said the air quality will improve over the weekend.

“The overall Delhi air quality has deteriorated marginally to the ’poor’ category as forecasted. PM10 (dust) remain the prominent pollutant. High dust is likely at isolated places today (Friday) due to gusty winds and thunderstorms. Likely rainfall will improve AQI from poor to moderate category in the next two days,” stated the Safar bulletin.