Delhi, reeling under scorching heatwave, looks to thunderstorm alert for respite

Rainfall and thunderstorm is likely to occur on Friday over isolated areas in Delhi and the adjoining national capital region (NCR), including Noida and Faridabad, the weather agency alerted.

Delhi will witness thunderstorms with light to moderate rainfall on Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted. The rainfall is likely to occur over isolated areas in Delhi and the adjoining national capital region (NCR), including Noida and Faridabad, the weather agency alerted. Earlier this week, it had said that the monsoon in India will remain "subdued" till July 7, after which the rains are expected to spread over the rest of northwest India.

For the next two days in the national capital, the met department has predicted generally cloudy skies with a possibility of light rain or drizzle. (File Photo / ANI)

"Thunderstorms with light to moderate rain would occur over and adjoining areas of isolated places of the south, east, southeast Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, and adjoining areas," the IMD said on Thursday night, issuing an alert for the next day.

For the next two days in the national capital, the met department has predicted generally cloudy skies with a possibility of light rain or drizzle. Thunder and lightning may also occur on the weekends, the weather conditions spilling over to the beginning of the next week, the IMD informed in its seven-day forecast.

The possibility of rains brings temporary respite to citizens in the national capital, reeling under a scorching heatwave this time of the year. Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 43.1 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the highest temperature recorded in July in nearly a century.

The IMD has said that the heatwave conditions are likely to continue over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and northwest Madhya Pradesh during the next two days. This is mainly due to likely dry westerly/southwesterly winds blowing from Pakistan to northwest India at lower levels, the met department said.

Not just Delhi, other regions in northwest India -- including most places over west Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi -- all recorded maximum temperatures of more than 40-degrees Celsius due to the prevailing heatwave. throughout the course of the week. On Wednesday, the highest maximum temperature of 45.8°C was reported at Ganganagar in Rajasthan.