A dust storm followed by a sudden downpour lashed Delhi on Thursday evening, leading to a sharp fall in temperatures within an hour and providing much-needed relief from the soaring heat.
The weather department has sounded a yellow alert for thunderstorms or lightning activity up to Friday.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the temperature fell by up to 10 notches at a few weather stations.
During the day, Ayanagar and Ridge stations reported heatwaves as the maximum was 40.9 degrees Celsius and 40.2 degrees Celsius, respectively. Safdrjung, representative of the capital, recorded a maximum of 39.6 degrees Celsius — 4.5 degrees above the season’s normal.
From 5.30 pm, the temperatures fell drastically in an hour. At Lodhi Road station, it dropped from 36 to 30 degrees Celsius. Whereas at Mayur Vihar, the fall was even sharper — from 37 to 27 degrees Celsius — due to more rainfall activity in East Delhi as per IMD officials.
.Strong, gusty winds of up to 40 kmph were reported by the Met Office on Thursday.
The capital also experienced warm night conditions for the third consecutive day in the early hours of Thursday. Warm night conditions are recorded when the maximum temperature is 40 degrees Celsius or more, and the minimum temperature is 4.5 to 6.4 degrees Celsius above the season’s normal.
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A ‘very warm night’ occurs when this departure exceeds 6.4 degrees Celsius.
IMD officials reported very warm night conditions at Palam station early Thursday, while five other stations, including Safdarjung, observed warm night conditions.
At Safdarjung, the minimum temperature was recorded at 25.9 degrees Celsius – around six degrees Celsius above normal – making it the hottest night since April 14, 2022, when the temperature hit 26.1 degrees Celsius.
The week ahead
On Friday, Delhiites can expect a generally cloudy sky with very light to light rain, thunderstorms, or lightning along with strong surface winds reaching up to 40 kmph.
“Under the influence of the current western disturbance, along with lower circulation features, heat wave conditions are likely to reduce significantly from Delhi from April 10 and abate from April 11,” stated the IMD in its bulletin.
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A fall in maximum temperatures by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius is forecast in the next three days and a gradual rise thereafter by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature is expected to decrease over the weekend from 23 to 25 degrees Celsius to around 19 to 21 degrees Celsius.
A drizzle is also expected on the weekend, as the IMD in its forecast said that there is a low probability of very light rain or drizzle, along with a partly cloudy sky. The subsequent days are then likely to see mainly clear skies. Mainly south easterly or easterly winds are forecast to pick up speed by next week (April 15 and 16) as they are expected to reach up to 30 kmph.