NEW DELHI: The city witnessed gusty winds and drizzle in some parts of the national capital on Friday evening which extended the cooling effect. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), however, said that the respite will be short-lived, as mercury will again start climbing up and heatwave conditions are likely to return from May 8 in absence of any strong weather system.
According to IMD officials, Safdarjung received only ‘traces’ of rainfall. This was the second shower, even though very light, in the city since February 25, the last time the city saw showers this year. The IMD forecast partly cloudy skies and thundery development on Saturday as well. Weather officials said that winds gusting up to the speed of 18-30 kmph blew across Delhi-NCR. The winds and drizzle helped bring the mercury down in the region.
The maximum temperature at Safdarjung was 38.4 degrees C while the minimum temperature settled at 24.2 degrees C, a notch below normal. “The weather activity was a result of the western disturbance that affected the Western Himalayan Region, which had its impact on the northern plains as well. However, the temperature will again start to rise from May 6 onwards with return of hot and dry winds and clear skies. Heat wave conditions are likely to surface again from May 8 with temperatures reaching 46 degrees C in parts of the city,” said a senior IMD official.
Delhi has been reeling under heatwave conditions over the past two months. While, March broke the heat records of 122 years, this April was the hottest in 72 years. The winds from the Arabian Sea or the Bay of Bengal have led to some moisture incursion which in turn led to cloud formation hence the rain,” IMD scientist Charan Singh said.
‘No major improvement in ammonia levels’
There has been no significant improvement in the concentration of ammoniacal nitrogen in the Yamuna in the national capital from 2016 to 2020, a study group set up by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has said. High ammonia levels in raw water sourced from the Yamuna have often led to disruption in water supply in the city. The CPCB monitors the water quality of the Yamuna at 30 locations under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP) in association with state pollution control boards of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.