Overnight showers give Delhi wettest February in 8 years

Met officials said hail activity in February and March is not unusual, pointing out that a difference in the surface and upper-level temperature creates an ideal scenario for formation of hail.

Gusty winds, thundershowers and hailstorm lashed the Capital on Friday night and early Saturday morning, leading to delays and diversion of flights at the Indira Gandhi International airport as the Capital recorded 10.1mm of rain in a 24-hour period till 8.30am on Saturday.

Commuters out in the rain at Connaught Place in New Delhi on Friday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT photo)

Parts of south, central and west Delhi recorded a hailstorm around 11.30pm on Friday, with officials saying that at least three inbound Vistara flights were diverted to airports in Jaipur and Amritsar. “Flight operations were impacted for around an hour, with hail and gusty winds making it difficult to land,” said an airport official.

Met officials said hail activity in February and March is not unusual, pointing out that a difference in the surface and upper-level temperature creates an ideal scenario for formation of hail.

So far, Delhi has received 28.7mm of rainfall this month -- the highest for February in the last eight years, since the Capital received 48.8mm rain during the month in 2014. Delhi witnessed just 2.6mm rain in February 2021, as against a monthly ‘normal’ of 18mm.

The rain and gusty winds brought down mercury in the Capital on Saturday, with the maximum temperature settling at 23.8°C -- two degrees below the normal mark and nearly four degrees down the 27.9°C recorded a day before. Wind speed touched 40kmph during the day on Saturday, down from the 45kmph recorded on Friday night.

“Delhi saw two thunderstorm spells, the first of which occurred on Friday between 8pm and 9pm. The second, from 11.30pm to 1am, was much more intense, with wind speeds touching 45kmph during both these spells,” said IMD scientist RK Jenamani, adding that convective clouds (those that lead to intense precipitation and hail activity due to lower freezing levels) over Delhi and strong southeasterly winds created an ideal situation for hail to form.

Navdeep Dahiya, an amateur weatherman who runs ‘Live Weather of India’, said the chance of hailstorm activity is higher in February and March, than during the winter months of November to January. “In winters, surface temperature and upper level temperatures are both low, but at this time of the year, the surface temperature is high, whereas it is quite low at the upper levels, where convective clouds are present. Hail forms easily as warmer winds rise and the water quickly freeze and turn into hail,” he said.

Forecast by the IMD shows maximum temperature is likely to hover around 24-25°C till the end of the month, with a rise in mercury only expected from March 1. “It could touch 28°C again by March 3,” said a Met official.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality also improved greatly, reaching the lower end of the ‘moderate’ category in the last 24 hours. Delhi recorded an air quality index of 102 (moderate) as per Central Pollution Control Board’s daily 4 pm bulletin on Saturday, down from 286 (poor) recorded a day ago.

Agencies forecast air quality to remain in a similar range until Sunday, owing to strong surface winds persisting over Delhi on Saturday as well.