Light rain, gusty winds to bring down mercury in Delhi: IMD

At 26°C, three degrees above normal, Delhi’s maximum temperature on Tuesday remained relatively unchanged from the previous day. This is expected to drop to around 22°C on Wednesday on account of gusty winds and overcast skies

Parts of the Capital saw light drizzle on Tuesday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting more rain accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 km/hr on Wednesday.

Near AIIMS roundabout, on Tuesday. (Amal KS/Hindustan Times)

At 26°C, three degrees above normal, Delhi’s maximum temperature on Tuesday remained relatively unchanged from the previous day. This is expected to drop to around 22°C on Wednesday on account of gusty winds and overcast skies, said IMD officials, adding that it may drop below 20-degree mark in some parts of Delhi.

The IMD classifies rainfall as ‘very light’ when it is between ‘trace’ and 2.4mm. It is ‘light’ when it is between 2.5mm and 15.5mm, and ‘moderate’ when it is between 15.6mm and 64.4mm.

While Safdarjung and Lodhi Road weather stations recorded ‘trace’ rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Tuesday, the Ridge station recorded 1.2mm of rainfall during this period.

Noting that there may be another spell of drizzle or light rain activity on Tuesday night, Met officials, however, said more active rain activity is expected towards Wednesday morning.

“Delhi-NCR saw a drizzle on Tuesday with an active western disturbance now influencing the region. This western disturbance will be most active on Wednesday during the day and wind speed could touch 40 km/hr, leading to a drop in the maximum temperature,” said IMD senior scientist RK Jenamani.

In terms of minimum temperature, Delhi recorded a low of 11.5°C on Tuesday – two degrees above normal and around three degrees higher than a day before . The highest minimum temperature was recorded at Pitampura, where mercury failed to drop below 14.4°C.

Delhi recorded its coldest February day in 19 years on February 3, when the maximum temperature dropped to just 14.4°C. On that day too, Delhi saw gusty winds up to 40 km/hr, with overcast conditions prevailing through the day.

The IMD has forecast a maximum temperature of around 22°C Celsius and the minimum hovering around 13°C on Wednesday, an official said.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) increased to 270 on Tuesday, which falls in the ‘poor’ category, from 250 (poor) on Sunday, as per Central Pollution Control Board’s daily bulletin. The air quality is expected to improve to the ‘moderate’ category by Wednesday, owing to strong winds and light rain.

“The AQI is likely to improve to the ‘moderate’ or ‘satisfactory’ category by Wednesday evening due to expected rain and the wet deposition of pollutants associated with it. From February 10, relatively high wind speed is likely to further enhance dispersion and keep AQI within the ‘moderate’ or the lower end of the ‘poor’ category,” said the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar).