NEW DELHI: The cool breeze in the national capital being felt over the past two days may get suppressed over the weekend with a forecast for rain and thundershowers from October 16-18. The rain and humidity are likely to lead to a slight rise in the night temperature for the next few days, before it begins to drop from October 20 onwards, officials in the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The IMD said that a fresh spell of rainfall over northwest India is likely to occur from October 16. “Under the influence of lower level easterlies, fresh spell of light to moderate rainfall, accompanied with thunderstorm and lightning are likely at many places including Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu& Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh,” it stated.
According to IMD officials, the cool winds being felt recently were mainly on account of slight snowfall in the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir. “At present north westerly winds are blowing, which are likely to change from Friday onwards to moisture-laden easterlies that induce rain. This is because of a low pressure area travelling from the Bay of Bengal up to the northwest region, inducing rainfall. This will lead to a rise in night temperature over the next few days,” said a senior official.
The official added that a dip in mercury is expected from October 20 onwards when north westerly winds return back. Independent weather forecasters too said that under the influence of easterly winds, the minimum rises while the maximum temperature drops. This pattern will change once the cold north westerly winds return. “The rain and moisture are likely to remain during October 16-19.
From October 20-21, north westerly winds are likely to return to the national capital and hence a drop in the night temperature is most likely,” said vice-president of Skymet Mahesh Palawat. He added that usually the onset of winter starts from the last week of October, which is the transition period for Delhi and is observed through the first week of November.