Rain, lightning, thunder likely in Delhi today, predicts weather panel

IMD said cloudy skies will prevail through Sunday, with two spells of rain expected in some parts of the city.

The Capital is likely to receive spells of rain on Sunday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a “yellow alert” for the city amid forecasts of thunderstorms, lightning, strong winds and dense fog, even as minimum temperatures continued to dip on Saturday.

The rain activity is being triggered by the influence of another western disturbance affecting northwest India, IMD said. (ANI)

IMD said cloudy skies will prevail through Sunday, with two spells of rain expected in some parts of the city. “A spell of very light rain to light rain accompanied by thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds with speeds of 30-40 kmph is likely during the morning to forenoon hours,” according to an IMD official.

The rain activity is being triggered by the influence of another western disturbance affecting northwest India, IMD said. Delhi has already seen the impact of multiple such systems this month, with the Safdarjung weather station recording 25.4 mm of rainfall in January – around 38% more than the long-period average of 18.4 mm for the month.

Meanwhile the minimum temperature dropped to 6.7 degrees Celsius (°C) on Saturday, one degree below normal. This marked a further decline from Friday’s minimum of 7.7°C. However, IMD has forecast a sharp rise in night-time temperatures on Sunday with the persistent cloud cover trapping some of the day’s heat.

January has seen sharp fluctuations in night temperatures, including four days of cold wave conditions earlier this month.

The maximum temperature on Saturday was recorded at 21.5°C, about 0.8 degrees below normal. It is expected to fall to between 17°C and 19°C on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the “yellow alert” that had been issued for Saturday was withdrawn in the afternoon after no rainfall was recorded, despite forecasts indicating the possibility of very light rain. IMD said shallow to moderate fog conditions are also likely to persist during the morning hours through the early part of next week.

Air back in ‘very poor’

Delhi’s air quality deteriorated further on Saturday, slipping back into the “very poor” category. The city’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 315 at 4 pm, compared with 253 recorded at the same time on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Forecasts by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi (AQEWS) indicate that air quality is likely to remain in the very poor category from Sunday through Thursday. “The outlook for the subsequent six days suggests air quality will fluctuate between very poor and poor,” the AQEWS bulletin issued on Saturday evening said.