Heavy rain lashed several parts of Delhi on Friday, accompanied by strong winds, as the weather office issued a red alert for the national capital until 5 pm.
The capital remained under a blanket of clouds as preparations continued for the BRICS Summit, scheduled for September 12 and 13. Parts of central and north Delhi, including the Parliament Street and Bharat Mandapam areas, received light to moderate rain.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in an update issued at 1 pm, said several areas could receive light to moderate rain of up to 15 mm per hour, while some parts may see heavy rainfall exceeding 15 mm per hour over the next few hours.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted multiple spells of rain on September 12 and 13. For Saturday, the first day of the summit, IMD has forecast one or two spells of very light to light rain, accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning, at many places from early morning to forenoon, followed by another spell of light to moderate rain from evening to night.
{{/usCountry}}India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted multiple spells of rain on September 12 and 13. For Saturday, the first day of the summit, IMD has forecast one or two spells of very light to light rain, accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning, at many places from early morning to forenoon, followed by another spell of light to moderate rain from evening to night.
{{/usCountry}}Experts said the rain was due to the monsoon axis passing over the city. “In the north, since the monsoon axis will quickly move down, easterlies will take over from tomorrow (Friday) onwards; parts of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, and Rajasthan are expected to receive a passing spell of moderate rains in the afternoon and evening hours starting tomorrow (Friday) into the weekend. Although these spells are going to be mostly localised, with general coverage of 30-40%, not everyone in the plains will receive rain from this spell,” said meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya.
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Due to rain, the city’s maximum temperature, which recorded a high of 36.6°C on Thursday, is expected to dip and remain below 33°C from Saturday.
Meanwhile, due to the lack of rain over the past couple of days, the city’s overall air quality index (AQI) rose, with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recording 134 (moderate) on Thursday, the highest in Delhi since July 19, when it was 171.
CPCB classifies AQI between 0 and 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”.
(With inputs from Aaditya Khatwani)