After dry spell, rain brings respite from heat in Gurugram

After a prolonged dry spell, the city received light rain on Monday evening, bringing the temperature down by five degrees to 31 degrees Celsius at 5.30pm, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

However, other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) remained largely dry. According to the IMD, the Ayanagar station recorded 0.3 mm rainfall.

According to meteorologists, the rainfall in Gurugram was a result of moisture in the air because of the movement of a low-pressure system from the Bay of Bengal. However, the maximum temperature settled at 35 degrees Celsius on Monday, rising by a degree Celsius from Sunday’s maximum temperature. The minimum temperature on Monday was recorded at 27 degrees Celsius, the same as Sunday’s minimum.

Another spell of rain, albeit a heavier one, is expected around September 4 and would last for around two to three days, said experts. This spell is likely to be the last one before the south-west monsoon withdraws from the northwestern parts of the country. A low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal is expected to move towards the northwestern parts of the country around September 4, leading to rain for two to three days,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, senior scientist at the IMD.

The temperature is expected to fall by at least three degrees Celsius during this spell of rain, experts said.

Air quality in the city remained in the satisfactory category, according to the CPCB’s daily AQI bulletin, with a value of 55. The concentration of PM2.5 (finer particulate matter) stood at an average of 51ug/m3 for the day, within the safe limit of 60ug/m3. According to the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, “The air quality is likely to improve marginally from 03.09.2019 to 04.02.2019 and may remain in good to satisfactory category.”

First Published: Sep 02, 2019 20:13 IST