NEW DELHI: Heavy rain lashed parts of the capital on Tuesday afternoon after overnight showers had already brought down temperatures in the city.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an orange alert for thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds as the city continues to see significant rainfall activity due to western disturbance over north Rajasthan and adjoining Haryana. The sky remained generally cloudy through the day, with gusty winds blowing at speeds up to 40 kmph during the storms.
The IMD said the capital recorded a maximum temperature of 29.8 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 21 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, marking a rise of over 3 degrees Celsius in daytime temperature compared to the previous day.
However, the maximum temperature still remained 4.4 degrees Celsius below normal for this time of the year, while the minimum was 1.3 degrees Celsius below normal.
Rainfall during the past 24 hours till 8.30 am was 12.6 mm at Safdarjung, with another 5.8 mm recorded till 5.30 pm. Palam, Ridge, and Ghaziabad also received significant rain, with Palam recording 41.6 mm between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. The humidity however ranged between 68 and 100 per cent.
The IMD’s seven-day forecast shows that the city will see a gradual return to dry conditions after Tuesday’s rain. The sky is expected to be partly cloudy on Wednesday and mainly clear from Thursday onwards. The maximum temperature is likely to rise to around 33–35 degrees Celsius by early next week, while the minimum will hover between 20 degrees Celsius and 23 degrees Celsius.
The weather office said the line of withdrawal of the southwest monsoon currently passes through Veraval, Bharuch, Ujjain, Jhansi, and Shahjahanpur, adding that conditions are favourable for further withdrawal from the remaining parts of Gujarat, MP, UP, and Maharashtra over the next few days.
No further weather warnings have been issued for the capital and adjoining NCR districts, with all regions, including Gurugram, Noida, and Ghaziabad, expected to experience clear skies from Thursday.
