New Delhi experienced an intense spell of rain on Tuesday afternoon, bringing relief from the heat. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Thursday and Friday, forecasting light to moderate showers in the city.
Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, recorded 30.8mm of rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Tuesday, while Lodhi Road received 35mm during the same period. Other parts of the city reported lighter rain: 11.3mm at the Ridge, 10.5mm at Delhi University, 8.5mm at Palam, and 8mm at Ayanagar.
The Met department attributed Tuesday’s rain to high humidity causing local convective clouds to form over the city. This was the second intense spell of rain at Safdarjung since the monsoon arrived on June 28, with the previous heavy rainfall of 228.1mm occurring on that day.
As of Tuesday evening, Safdarjung has recorded 41.2mm of rainfall in July. The forecast suggests the possibility of very light to light rain on Wednesday, followed by potentially intense spells of light to moderate rain with thunderstorms or lightning on Thursday and Friday, fueled by moisture from the Arabian Sea.
The maximum temperature in Delhi on Tuesday was 33.2 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal, while the minimum temperature was 27.2 degrees Celsius. Relative humidity varied from 74% to 98%.
Delhi’s air quality remained satisfactory with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 86, a trend expected to continue until July 12. The IMD expects maximum temperatures around 34-35 degrees Celsius and minimum temperatures around 25-27 degrees Celsius until Friday.
