Thunderstorms lashed Delhi-NCR, Thursday. Abhinav SahaParts of Delhi and NCR received intermittent spells of rain throughout Thursday. According to officials at the India Meteorological Department, the Safdarjung observatory — considered the official centre for Delhi — recorded 13 mm of rain through the day.
According to officials at the IMD, there are more rainy days ahead. “The skies will be generally cloudy. There will be very light rain and thundershowers. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be between 23 and 14 degrees Celsius,” said an IMD official.
Heavier rain is expected again on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, officials added.
As per records, Delhi has already received over 25 mm of rain this month, which is over 200% the amount it normally receives. The month of February, so far, has been the wettest since 2014, when the city recorded 48.8 mm of rain. Delhi received no rain in February in 2018 and 2017.
On Thursday, the minimum temperature was high because of cloud cover and was recorded at 13.9 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal. The maximum was recorded at 23 degrees Celsius, a degree below normal.
Humidity levels also remained high — oscillating between 98% and 77%.
Strong winds on Thursday evening meant that air quality started to improve from “very poor”, that was recorded till 4 pm, by the Central Pollution Control Board. According to real-time data, concentration of particulate matter came down to “poor” levels by evening.
“Thundershowers and winds associated with the westerly disturbances occurred in many places over Delhi and surrounding areas. The rain also helped wash away particulate matter. Air quality will further improve to ‘moderate’ on Friday and will steadily improve till early next week,” said officials at SAFAR.
