Delhi is bracing for another day of light to moderate rainfall, thunderstorms and gusty winds on Friday as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for the capital.
Several areas in the city woke up to rain on March 20, which is expected to continue throughout the day.
In its local weather report, the IMD issued a yellow alert for Delhi to “monitor and be updated” and predicted to witness “light to moderate rainfall, thundershowers and gusty winds (30-40 kmph).
Earlier, the Met Dept said that Delhi, Noida, Dadri and Greater Noida can expect “hail and thundershowers with moderate rainfall and lightning (40-50 kmph gusty winds)”.
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Why does it rain in North India?
Skymet’s Mahesh Palawat told PTI that a western disturbance is currently located over northern Pakistan and neighboring Jammu and Kashmir, “hence the western Himalayan regions are witnessing heavy rains”.
He noted that the induced cyclonic circulation over Haryana is also leading to rains in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab simultaneously.
Palawat told PTI that while earlier forecasts indicated heavier rain activity, “the system is now moving towards the eastern parts of the country and the conditions are likely to remain similar to what we are experiencing at present”.
He also warned that pre-monsoon activity has also arrived earlier than usual. “It usually starts at the end of March, but this time it was advanced.
Palawat stressed that this is because the first 10 days of March saw unusually high temperatures and the Western Disturbance was more intense. “As a result, the pre-monsoon phase has been set in advance.
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Rainiest March since 2023
Rain and gusty winds lashed the nation’s capital on Thursday, making it the wettest March in three years. Average rainfall in the city was recorded at 9.4 mm.
Safdarjung town base station recorded 9.4 mm of average rainfall till March 19 against the normal monthly average of 12.6 mm.
Higher rainfall was last recorded in March in 2023, when the monthly total was 50.4 mm, underscoring the intensity of the current rainy season.
Average rainfall in Delhi was recorded at 9.4 mm on Thursday.
- Safdarjung: 8.2 mm
- Plug: 6.2 mm
- Lodhi Road: 8.2 mm
- Comb: 8.6 mm
- Ayanagar: 7.2 mm
- Pitampura: 5.5 mm
- Mouth: 11.0 mm
- Mayur Vihar: 3.0 mm
- Janakpuri: 12.5 mm
Several areas in Delhi also reported light rainfall on Wednesday.
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The temperature drops to a minimum
Bringing respite from the warmer days in early March, this persistent cloud cover and occasional rainfall saw Delhi’s day temperature plummet by nearly 6 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
The maximum temperature settled at 26.8 degrees Celsius, the lowest so far this month.
On Thursday, maximum temperatures remained below normal across the city, with Safdarjung and Lodhi Road recording 26.8 degrees Celsius, 4.5 and 3.2 degrees below normal.
Delhi AQI
The heavy downpour and strong winds also helped improve Delhi’s already improving air quality by dispersing pollutants
Delhi’s AQI reached 137 in the “moderate” category, improving from the “poor” category recorded on Wednesday.
According to the CPCB, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 to 100 “satisfactory”, 101 to 200 “moderate”, 201 to 300 “poor”, 301 to 400 “very poor” and 401 to 500 “severe”.
