Tauktae’s effect: Mercury falls 14°C below normal in Noida

Noida: The maximum temperature in Noida fell 14 degrees below normal on Wednesday, weather analysts said, as the remnants of cyclone Tauktae, which is passing over Delhi-NCR, brought heavy rain to the city

Noida: The maximum temperature in Noida fell 14 degrees below normal on Wednesday, weather analysts said, as the remnants of cyclone Tauktae, which is passing over Delhi-NCR, brought heavy rain to the city.

HT Image

As a result, the air quality of Noida and its adjoining areas improved considerably on Wednesday, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said that the rainfall is likely to continue on Thursday.

The maximum temperature in Noida on Wednesday was 23.6 degrees Celsius -- 14 degrees below normal-- and the minimum was 21.6 degrees Celsius, against a maximum and minimum reading of 30.6 degrees Celsius and 27.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

The data showed that the maximum temperature on Wednesday was down by seven degrees Celsius from Tuesday and by 14 degrees from Monday.

At the Safdarjung monitoring station, the maximum temperature was 23.8 degrees Celsius – 16 degrees Celsius lower than the season’s average – and the minimum was 21.4 degrees Celsius, four degrees below the season’s average.

The city saw an average rainfall of one millimetre till 8.30am on Wednesday. Data for the rest of the day for Noida is yet to be ascertained, experts said.

Meanwhile, the average rainfall measured at the Safdarjung monitoring station in Delhi, considered an average for the National Capital Region, was 31.3mm between 8.30am and 5.30pm.

According to the IMD, the mercury is expected to rise on Thursday, while a drizzle is likely to continue till the morning hours of Thursday.

However, the skies will remain cloudy.

“The heavy rainfall on Wednesday was the remnants of cyclone Tauktae, which after it subsided, formed low pressure spots, and induced a cyclonic circulation over north-east Rajasthan and southern Haryana. Thursday will see light rain in the morning hours but the mercury will hover around 30 degrees Celsius,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, IMD.

Meanwhile, the air quality of Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad improved to the ‘satisfactory’ category.

According to the CPCB, the air quality index (AQI) of Noida on Wednesday, on a scale of 0 to 500, was 78 against 108 a day earlier.

The AQI of Greater Noida was 72 against 79 a day earlier. Ghaziabad recorded an AQI of 73 on Wednesday against 122 a day earlier.

An AQI level up to zero to 50 is considered ‘good’, 50 to 100 is considered ‘satisfactory’, between 101 and 200 is ‘moderate’, between 201 and 300 is ‘poor’, between 301 and 400 is ‘very poor’ and above 400 is considered ‘severe’.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the air quality is likely to marginally improve.

“Surface winds are east-north-easterly and high. Widespread rainfall is likely for Wednesday and aerosol washout is expected. Overall AQI is forecasted to marginally improve and stay in the low end of ‘satisfactory’ to ‘good’ for Thursday and ‘satisfactory’ to ‘moderate’ on May 21 and 22,” said a SAFAR statement on Wednesday.