Rain, dust storm bring city solace from oppressive heat
NEW DELHI: After braving temperatures well above normal for nearly three months now, parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) received some longawaited relief, with light rain, thunderstorm and gusty winds on Friday evening. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said light to moderate showers are likely to continue in the region till May 24, which will likely push daytime temperature down by a few notches.
However, during the day, there was little relief to be had, with the heat unrelenting till the evening’s showers.
IMD recordings showed that heatwave conditions continued in the Capital on Friday, with the maximum temperature at the Safdarjung weather station settling at 44.4°C — five degrees above the season’s normal. In many observatories in the city, daytime temperatures crossed the 45°C mark.
Mungeshpur and Najafgarh continued to be the hottest parts of the city, with maximum temperatures above 47°C, according to IMD data.
In Palam, the maximum temperature was 45.1°C, at the Ridge station, the mercury soared to 45.7°C and in Aya Nagar, the maximum was 46°C.
In the evening, however, most of the city saw thunderstorms. Some areas in east and northeast Delhi also received a hailstorm, according to local reports.
The Safdarjung station recorded trace rainfall on Friday evening, while Palam logged 0.1mm of precipitation
According to IMD, a heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature is over 40°C in the plains and the deviation from normal is 4.5°C or above. A severe heatwave is categorised if the temperature is 6.5°C above normal.
Senior Met officials said two back-to-back western disturbances are expected to keep the skies cloudy till May 24, with light to moderate rains expected intermittently.
“Widespread moderate rains are likely to pick up from Sunday and heatwave conditions will abate in the coming days,” said a senior IMD official.
Private weather forecasters said the fall in temperatures after Friday’s rains will not be immediately seen on Saturday, but a gradual drop of 3-5°C in maximum temperatures can be expected over the coming days.
“There will not be a significant drop in temperature on Saturday, but there will be a gradual decline of around 3-5°C till May 24. Heatwave conditions are unlikely to continue,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet.
Since March this year, Delhi has been recording an unusually hot summer, with the city breaking several of its extreme temperature records. Last week, some parts of the city recorded temperatures higher than 49°C, which the city has never seen before.
“In March, April and May, we did not get any active western disturbance which caused good rains or brought cool winds from the hills. These generally bring brief respite from the summer heat in northwest India,” said RK Jenamani, senior scientist at IMD.