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Delhi weather: Yellow alert in capital for light rain, thunderstorms over next two days
The weather department said “partly to generally cloudy skies” would persist for the next couple of days.
Temperatures in Delhi rose marginally on Wednesday, even as the India Meteorological Department sounded a yellow alert till Friday for the Capital, forecasting rain and thunderstorms.
The weather department said that the national capital is likely to experience “partly to generally cloudy skies” for the next couple of days. “A yellow alert has been issued for Thursday and Friday, as light rain is expected, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and strong winds of speed reaching 40-50 kmph, even gusting to 60 kmph,” an IMD official told PTI news agency.
While no such alert has been issued, the weather department has predicted similar conditions to continue on Saturday as well. The weather department had earlier this week said the downpour is expected as part of pre-monsoon activities, which are normal throughout June.
“The city will be experiencing occasional rain and thunderstorms, as pre-monsoon activities continue, providing short breaks to the heat,” private forecaster Skymet Weather vice president Mahesh Palawat said, according to an earlier HT report.
Slight increase in temperature
The Capital warmed up slightly on Wednesday, with Safdarjung, representative of the city's weather, nearly touching 40 degrees Celsius. Safdarjung recorded a maximum temperature of 39.1 degrees Celsius, which is 1.4 degree more than a day before, but 0.9 degree below normal, according to PTI. The weather station logged a minimum temperature of 27.4 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degree above normal and 0.6 degree more than Tuesday.
The other weather stations in Delhi also saw a similar pattern, with Palam recording a 3.7 degree rise in the maximum temperature, which stood at 39.6 degree Celsius, and Lodhi Road registering a maximum temperature of 38.8 degrees Celsius, 2.8 degree more than a day before. Ridge also witnessed an increase of 2.1 degree from the previous day, with the temperature at a maximum of 39.3 degrees on Tuesday. Ayanagar logged 39.6 degrees Celsius, a 3.5 degree rise from Tuesday, according to PTI.
Rain to keep temperature below 40 degrees Celsius
Rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds across the Capital till Friday will keep the maximum temperature in check and below the 40 degrees Celsius mark at least for the next six days, according to the IMD.
With the downpour forecast, Delhi is also set to experience a relatively cooler start to June, with the maximum temperature likely to remain between 36 degrees Celsius and 39 degrees Celsius for the first week. This would be below the normal temperature for June 1 to June 9, which is usually 40 degrees Celsius.
Skymet Weather vice president Mahesh Palawat said while there might be one or two episodes of isolated heatwaves going into June, pre-monsoon activities would continue for the next four to five days. “The rain is an effect of a western disturbance, which has led to a cyclonic circulation over Pakistan, Punjab, and Haryana,” Palawat said, while adding that the temperature would start rising after the first week of June.
