Delhi on Sunday woke up to light rain and thunderstorms, bringing relief from the heat in the national capital and the surrounding areas.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for Sunday, forecasting more showers, which are likely to bring down the high temperatures further. An orange alert is currently in place in Delhi for moderate rain, accompanied by gusty winds and lightning.
IMD on Saturday had forecast very light rain or drizzle on Sunday morning, along with thunderstorms, lightning and strong surface winds reaching speeds of up to 50 kmph. These conditions are expected to bring down temperatures further. It had also forecast likely hailstorms in the western Himalayas and adjoining plains on Sunday and Monday.
The national capital recorded a marginal drop in the minimum temperature on Saturday, even as the India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert for Sunday, predicting light rain and gusty winds.
The weather office has also indicated that temperatures are likely to decline further over the coming days.
According to the IMD, Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, registered a minimum temperature of 18.1 degrees Celsius, which is three degrees above normal but 2.3 degrees lower than the previous day.
At Palam and Lodhi Road weather stations, the minimum temperature settled at 16.6 degrees Celsius, marking a slight decrease from Friday’s readings.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president of meteorology and climate change at Skymet Weather, said the change in weather is linked to a western disturbance moving towards the western Himalayas, which has triggered cyclonic circulation over central Pakistan and adjoining areas of Punjab and Haryana, news agency PTI reported.
Due to this system, parts of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi are likely to receive rainfall over the next two days. Palawat added that this could be the season’s first pre-monsoon rain, arriving nearly 10 days earlier than usual.