Rain in capital brings mercury down

Light rainfall and gusty winds in the national capital brought the mercury down by several notches on Thursday. The maximum temperature was recorded as 16.4°C, three

Light rainfall and gusty winds in the national capital brought the mercury down by several notches on Thursday. The maximum temperature was recorded as 16.4°C, three notches below normal.

HT Image

While the Safdarjung Observatory, representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded 4mm rainfall, the Lodhi Road weather station received the maximum rain, recording 6.4mm. Other weather stations, including Ridge and Aya Nagar, recorded 28mm and 1.7mm, respectively. Palam Observatory recorded the lowest at 0.8mm.

Scientists at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the rain brought the day (maximum) temperature down. However, it is likely to rise by a degree or two on Friday because of cloud cover.

“The western disturbance (WD), which triggered rainfall in Delhi and satellite towns, has passed now. The day temperature will rise by a notch or two over the next couple of days. But the night (minimum) temperature will drop slightly, mainly because of clear skies,” Kuldeep Srivastava, head, IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said.

On Thursday, the minimum temperature was 9.5°C, two notches above normal. The city had recorded a minimum of 6.4°C on Wednesday. The average wind speed was 12-15kmph.

“The wind speed so far has remained good. But with the passing of the WD, it is again expected to drop to 8-10kmph,” Srivastava said.

Meanwhile, despite rain and wind, the air quality plunged on Thursday, though remaining in the ‘poor’ zone. The overall air quality index (AQI) reading was 281, as against 218 the day before.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), the widespread rain and winds will help improve air quality on Friday. “The impact of rain on clearing pollutants will be felt by Friday morning. However, it is likely to deteriorate again from January 18, due to winds slowing down,” the Safar bulletin said.