Light rain, winds in Delhi bring relief from heat; no heatwave expected next week

Experts attributed the recent spells of rain and predictions of more such spells to an upcoming western disturbance.

Delhi’s respite from searing heat is set to continue for the next week, even as it received light showers and thunderstorms in isolated pockets across the city, after the India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert for rainfall in central and northwest Delhi, alongside an orange alert for parts of southwest and southern Delhi at 9.55pm on Saturday.

The IMD has predicted very light to light spells of rainfall from May 3 to May 5. (PTI/File Photo)

As per information shared by the IMD at around 10.30pm, the weather station at Pitampura clocked 6mm of rainfall, Pushp Vihar 1mm, and Gurugram 8mm.

The IMD has predicted very light to light spells of rainfall from May 3 to May 5, and the possibility of another western disturbance on May 8. The IMD issued a yellow alert for Sunday and Monday for rainfall as well.

On Saturday, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 38.6 degrees Celsius (°C), which is expected to reduce to 35-37°C by Monday, as per the forecast.

The IMD’s forecast for May 3 predicts “partly cloudy sky becoming generally cloudy sky, a spell of very light to light rain accompanied with thunderstorm/ lightning and strong winds speeds of 30-40 kmph gusting to 50 kmph during the afternoon.” The forecast for May 4 predicts the same, except for “generally cloudy skies”.

For May 5, the IMD has forecast one or two spells of very light to light rainfall, with winds of speeds up to 40kmph.

Palawat said that the current weather activities in the city are pre-monsoon activities, which will continue till the first half of June. “However, this year, they are different as usually during May, we experience two to three days of pre-monsoon activities, then heatwaves, followed by pre-monsoon activities again. This is because this year, we are seeing more western disturbances. A similar weather pattern is expected this month as well, till at least May 8 or 9, as we are expecting more western disturbances after the next week as well, although they will be feeble,” he said.

The minimum temperature on Saturday was 25.9°C, close to 24.7°C, the normal for the period, according to the IMD. The minimum temperature is also expected to decrease over the coming week, to around 21-23°C by May 6, as per IMD’s forecast. The IMD’s normal minimum temperature for Delhi during May 6 to May 10 is 25.1°C, meaning that the city’s minimum temperatures could also dip 4°C below normal next week.

The city’s 24-hour average air quality index was at 144 (“moderate”) at 4pm, as per the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB’s) daily bulletin. The Centre’s early warning system for Delhi predicted on Saturday that the AQI is likely to stay in the “moderate” to “poor” category for the next 6 days.