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Will rain continue in Delhi NCR? IMD predicts fog, cooler days ahead | See full forecast
While no rain warning has been issued for Delhi for the day, a drop in minimum temperature by 5–6 degrees Celsius is expected over the next three days.
Delhi and its adjoining areas woke up to clear skies on Saturday morning after the national capital received a fresh spell of widespread rainfall a day earlier. The sudden change in weather brought down the temperature in the city but offered brief relief from pollution levels across the region.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Delhi-NCR is expected to see a generally cloudy sky on Saturday, with shallow to moderate fog during the morning hours and strong surface winds reaching 10-20 kmph.
However, no rain warning has been issued for the city for the day, and the weather department has not announced any alert for Delhi for the next six days.
Mercury to fall further next week
Weather officials have forecast a drop in minimum temperatures by 5–6 degrees Celsius over the next three days, followed by a gradual rise thereafter. The IMD said cold northwesterly winds are expected to return between Saturday and Monday, leading to cooler nights.
For January 23, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 12°C and a maximum of 19°C. The IMD has forecast a sharper fall on January 24, with temperatures expected to range between 7°C and 17°C.
Explaining the trend, Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, said that cold winds from the northwest will return due to fresh snowfall in the mountains, but their impact is expected to be limited.
“Another western disturbance will be seen from January 26 and so, we will only see northwesterly winds persist for around two days. This will mean that while the minimum dips, it will not be a sharp dip and so, coldwave conditions are unlikely,” he said.
According to official data, Delhi logged 19.8 mm of rain, marking the highest single-day rainfall in January in the past three years. The last comparable spell was recorded on January 30, 2023, when the city received 20.3 mm of rainfall.
Air quality improves, but remains ‘poor’
Rainfall helped improve Delhi’s air quality slightly, though it continued to remain in the “poor” category. On Saturday morning at 7:05 am, the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 264, according to CPCB’s Sameer app.
The Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi said, “Delhi’s air quality is likely to be in the ‘poor’ category from January 24 till 26. The outlook for the subsequent six days, from January 27, shows the air quality is likely to be in the ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ range”.
Gurugram under orange alert
In Gurugram, around 12 mm of rainfall was recorded between 8 am and 5 pm on Friday. Following this, the IMD upgraded the existing “yellow” alert to an “orange” alert till Saturday noon, warning of thunderstorms accompanied by hailstorms, lightning and very strong winds reaching 40–60 kmph at isolated locations.
The weather department advised residents to remain indoors and take shelter in safe buildings due to the risk of flying debris caused by strong winds and hailstorms.
A “yellow” warning has also been extended to southern Haryana districts, including Gurugram, till Sunday due to the likelihood of dense fog and dust storms, the IMD said.
