Light rain, thunder strike national capital

India Meteorological Department (IMD) recordings show that the Safdarjung weather station, which is considered the official marker for the city, received 0.5mm of rain till 5.30pm Thursday.

Delhi residents on Thursday woke up to light rain, followed by thunderstorm and strong winds in parts of the national capital. The swift winds proved a blessing as they helped reduce the pollution levels.

Commuters out in the rain at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi, India. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

India Meteorological Department (IMD) recordings show that the Safdarjung weather station, which is considered the official marker for the city, received 0.5mm of rain till 5.30pm Thursday. The Palam observatory received 2.6mm rain, while Lodi Road received 0.1mm till 5.30pm.

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said apart from light rain, many parts also saw thunderstorms in the evening. He said under the influence of a passing western disturbance, the temperatures also increased in the region. At the Safdarjung observatory, the minimum temperature on Thursday was 12.4 degrees Celsius, which was four degrees above the season’s normal. The maximum temperature was 23.2 degrees Celsius.

“Generally, during the passage of a western disturbance, temperatures tend to increase. From tomorrow (Friday), the mercury will start falling once again. But there will not be a drastic fall. The minimum temperature will remain around 7-8 degrees Celsius,” Srivastava said.

As the temperatures rose and strong winds blew over Delhi-NCR, the pollution levels started abating. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recordings show that the overall air quality index (AQI) of Delhi on Thursday was 316, in the ”very poor” zone. This was, however, an improvement from Wednesday’s 330, also in the ”very poor” category.