Relief at last: Rain, thunderstorm bring mercury down to record level in Delhi

NEW DELHI:  Delhi woke up to dark skies, rain, thunder and cool breeze on Monday, in a huge respite from the prolonged heatwave conditions. The weather also disrupted air traffic and operations at the Delhi airport. 

The rain and lightning that started overnight and went on till 8.30 am, helped bring the mercury down to 17.2 degrees Celsius --- nine notches below normal and the lowest minimum temperature recorded in the city in May in 18 years, the state weather department said. It has also forecast more thundershowers and gusty winds to occur late Monday night while similar activity is likely over the next two days.   

As per records shared by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Safdarjung, which is representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded a minimum temperature of 17.2 degrees C, nine notches below normal for this time of the year. Previously, this low minimum temperature during May was recorded on May 1, 2004 when it dipped to 16.7 degrees C. The lowest ever minimum temperature during this month was recorded on May 2, 1982 when the night temperature had dipped to 15.2 degrees C.    

Also, Delhi received ‘moderate to heavy’ rainfall across the city with Safdarjung receiving 12.6 mm rain over 24 hours. Gurgaon saw the heaviest spell in the NCR, as it received 73.4 mm rainfall during the same period. Other city stations received --- Ayanagar (52.2), Palam (27.6mm), Najafgarh (29mm), Delhi Ridge (14.2 mm), Lodhi Road (13.8 mm) and Najafgarh (29 mm) rain.  

The maximum temperature at Safdarjung  fell significantly to 31.5 degrees C, eight notches below normal. This is notable as well as a huge relief to people, as the city’s day temperatures have remained extremely high over the past month settling above 43-44 degrees C at most stations. Last year, rains had brought the day temperature down to 23 degrees C.