NEW DELHI: After a week of battling a severe heat wave, the national Capital witnessed a dust storm that brought the temperature down by four notches to 41.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.The IMD has predicted the likelihood of dust storm, thunderstorm and light rain in the city in the next 48 hours.
However, the temperatures are expected to soar back to 44 degree Celsius on Friday.
“The expected weather conditions with dust storm, thunderstorm and light rain are going to bring the temperatures down for the next 48 hours,” senior scientist of the IMD, Kuldeep Srivastava, told
The Morning Standard.
The temperature at Palam, which hit a record 48 degrees Celsius on Monday came down to 43.4 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperatures also dropped at Lodhi Road which recorded 40.6 degrees Celsius and Aya Nagar with 42 degrees Celsius.While the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has predicted a rise in temperature by Friday, the good news is that the mercury will dip below 40 degrees Celsius by next week. The city can expect light rainfall with partly cloudy sky, as per the predictions by the RMC.
The colour code which had been turned red indicating the severity of prevailing weather conditions is orange now. For the next three days, it is green.Meanwhile, the air quality was of poor quality with the lead pollutant to be PM10 (Particulate Matter of 10 micron or less in diameter), according to the SAFAR.
Flight operations temporarily stalled
Flight operations at the Delhi International Airport were suspended for around 35 minutes in the evening due to poor visibility, airport officials said. Till 7.15 pm, nine flights were diverted from the IGI Airport to other cities in neighbouring states