Rain lashed the Capital on Monday under the influence of a western disturbance bringing down the maximum temperature, the Meteorological Department said.
The city recorded a maximum of 22.6 degrees Celsius, which is a dip from the 28.7 degrees Celsius recorded on Sunday.
The minimum temperature was 11.5 degrees Celsius, four degrees warmer than normal for the season.
The city recorded 1.2mm of rainfall between 8. 30 a.m. and 5 30 p.m. Rainfall was heaviest at Palam, which recorded 2.8 mm of rain.
Air Quality Index
The wet, windy weather brought the air quality index (AQI) in Delhi, which had been hovering between “very poor” and “severe”, down to “poor” and “very poor”.
The Central Pollution Control Board data stated that the overall AQI in the city was 345, which falls in the “very poor” category.
“The AQI is likely to improve on Tuesday and may reach “poor” to “moderate” category under the influence of higher wind speeds and ventilation coefficient. The air quality is likely to improve further on Wednesday and may reach the “moderate” category,” read an air quality bulletin from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
“Widespread light to moderate rainfall with gusty winds up to 25-30 kmph could also affect the plains especially Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh during on Tuesday,” said the Met Department. The weatherman added that in view of cloud cover and easterly/south-easterly winds, night temperatures are expected to fall by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and the maximum temperature would be in the range of 20 to 22 degrees Celsius.
Another western disturbance would affect northwest India from Thursday, the Met Department added.