Delhi: Overnight rains, strong winds bring down temperature; AQI improves

The rain, accompanied by gusty winds meant Delhi’s minimum temperature on Thursday morning was 21.9°C – five notches below normal for this time of the year

Strong winds coupled with overnight rains brought down the temperature in Delhi-NCR on Thursday morning. 9.6mm rainfall till 8:30am today was recorded in Safdarjung while Ayanagar and Lodhi road both received 7.8mm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data showed.

Delhi is likely to see isolated drizzle in some places during the day as well. (HT file photo)

Delhi is likely to see isolated drizzle in some places during the day as well, with partly cloudy skies expected on Thursday, officials said.

With the downpour, the air quality index (AQI) in the national Capital also improved to the ‘moderate’ category.

The average AQI for the capital was recorded at 168 at 9am today -- nearly half of the average AQI of 336 it reported at 4pm on Wednesday.

The AQI is expected to remain in the moderate range throughout the day, officials said.

Wednesday was the first time in three months that Delhi recorded ‘very poor’ air, the last being recorded on February 22, when the average AQI was 302.

The CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) classifies an AQI between 0-50 as good, between 51 and 100 as satisfactory, between 101 and 200 as moderate, between 201 and 300 as poor, between 301 and 400 as very poor and over 400 as severe.

The rain, accompanied by gusty winds meant Delhi’s minimum temperature on Thursday morning was 21.9°C – five notches below normal for this time of the year.

The minimum a day earlier was 25.4°C.

With this spell of rain, Safdarjung has now received 60.4mm of rainfall so far this month – nearly two times the monthly normal mark of 30.7mm.

According to Met officials, the thunderstorm was in association with an active western disturbance over northwest India, however its impact will start reducing from Friday onwards, with clear skies expected in the region once again.

“The western disturbance impacted large parts of Delhi NCR, bringing strong winds, thunder and rain. Some places are likely to receive drizzle during the day today as well, before its impact gradually weakens. No rain is expected on Friday or the weekend,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.