‘Orange’ alert out for Thursday, brace for moderate rainfall, says IMD

IMD scientist RK Jenamani said rainfall intensity this week is likely to be low in comparison to that on July 1, when the south-west monsoon had reached Delhi, with the capital receiving 117.2mm of rainfall over a 24-hour period.

Rain eluded most parts of Delhi on Tuesday, making for another hot and humid day across the city. Some relief is likely in store on Thursday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, when the city may receive moderate rainfall that will help cool down the temperatures a bit.

‘Orange’ alert out for Thursday, brace for moderate rainfall, says IMD (Pratik Chorge/HT File Photo)

Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, recorded a maximum temperature of 37.9 degrees Celsius (°C), 1.1 degrees more than Monday’s maximum of 36.8°C and around one degree higher than normal for this time of the year. Relative humidity oscillated between 55-88%, taking the heat index (HI) or ‘Real Feel’ to 50°C at 2.30pm on Tuesday. The IMD has forecast light showers on Wednesday, and an ”orange” alert is in place on Thursday, indicating the likelihood of moderate rainfall.

IMD scientist RK Jenamani said rainfall intensity this week is likely to be low in comparison to that on July 1, when the south-west monsoon had reached Delhi, with the capital receiving 117.2mm of rainfall over a 24-hour period.

He said while light rainfall is expected until the weekend, moderate rainfall is expected on Thursday. “We are seeing hot and humid days, with light rainfall likely occurring towards the evening or night. On Thursday, the intensity will slightly be more and therefore Delhi might see a drop in the maximum temperature by 3 to 4 degrees,” Jenamani said.

While no rainfall was recorded at Safdarjung between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Tuesday, 1.5mm of rainfall was recorded in Jafarpur during this period, and 4mm of rainfall in Mayur Vihar. No other stations in Delhi received any rain.

According to the IMD’s seven-day forecast, Delhi has a ”yellow” alert for rainfall activity each day till July 11. It is ”orange” only for Thursday, indicating the likelihood of moderate rainfall, with some parts even receiving heavy rainfall.

After a strong start to the monsoon on July 1, rainfall activity has dropped over the past few days. Between 8.30am on Monday and 8.30am on Tuesday, Delhi received 0.6mm of rainfall, while it received zero rainfall in the next nine hours.

In terms of minimum temperature, Delhi recorded a low of 29°C on Tuesday, which was 1.6 degrees higher than Monday’s 27.4°C and one degree above normal for this time of the year. The forecast for Wednesday says light rainfall is only expected in parts of Delhi, with no significant change in the maximum and minimum temperature. .