
NEW DELHI: A spell of overnight rain witnessed in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and other places in the National Capital Region on Thursday intensified the cold weather conditions, further bringing down the temperature. Delhi is likely to experience light rain and thunderstorms till Sunday, according to a forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The city’s minimum temperature on Thursday hovered around 12.05oC and maximum temperature at 21.41oC. The minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to settle around 8 and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively, on Friday.
Delhi’s primary weather station at Safdarjung recorded 3.7 mm of rainfall. Among other weather stations, Palam recorded 8.6 mm rainfall, Pusa 7.5 mm, and Mayur Vihar 4 mm.
The IMD has issued yellow alert across Delhi, predicting light rain, smog and shallow fog in the morning hours until Sunday. Cloudy conditions are also likely to persist on Friday.
The Centre’s panel on air quality revoked curbs under stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) amid dip in pollution levels following rain. Stage 4 curbs include a ban on all construction activities, entry of non-essential polluting trucks, and mandatory shifting of school classes.
The curbs were imposed on Wednesday as calm winds, low temperatures and foggy conditions allowed accumulation of pollutants in the region, with the AQI clocking 396 on Wednesday evening.