Rain in Gurgaon dips temperature, pollutants

The Met department has forecast be light rain overnight and said there will be more drizzle on Tuesday

Rain in the evening in Gurgaon led to a dip in temperature and relief from pollution on Monday. The residents welcomed the shower and got their woollens out as the mercury dropped. The rain, however, slowed down traffic at several junctions, including the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, towards Delhi.

The evening rain lashed several parts of the city. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The evening rain lashed several parts of the city. Throughout the day, the city was blanketed by smog and there was a sharp wind about as well. With the city under a layer of smog, the air quality dropped to the ‘very poor’ category during the day. The city’s air quality index was recorded at 319 on Monday.

The minimum temperature was reported at 8.2°C on Monday and is likely to fall by another one or two degrees over the next 24 hours, said officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The maximum temperature on the day was 22.2°C.

The Met department has forecast be light rain overnight and said there will be more drizzle on Tuesday.

“During the day, the wind did bring down the temperature, but we were hoping for some rain to help clean the city air. Now, with the rain, the pollution levels will drop and the smog will clear as well,” Lalit Saini, a resident of Sector 10A and a regular commuter to DLF Cyber City, said.

“It was cloudy throughout the day and the evening shower will drag the city’s pollution levels down. The rain will also help clear the smog that shrouded the city today,” Smriti Chabbra, a resident of DLF Phase 2, said.

With the winter subdued, at best, last year, residents are hoping for a sharp chill this year.

However, while providing some respite from pollution, the rain hit homebound commuters in the evening as snarls were reported in several parts of the city. While Iffco Chowk saw hit by a major traffic jam, work on the under-construction underpasses also slowed down the movement of vehicles on Signature Chowk and Rajeev Chowk.

“I was travelling from Signature Chowk towards MG Road and it took me almost 30 minutes cross Iffco Chowk,” Sameer Tripathi, a resident of South City 1, said.