Dark clouds, drizzle bring mercury down in capital

NEW DELHI: Dark clouds, light rain and winds gusting up to 30 kilometres per hour made weather pleasant in Delhi on Thursday.  The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi’s primary weather station, recorded a minimum temperature of 28 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature settled at 31.9 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal. It was 37.5 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

Safdarjung, Lodhi Road, Palam, Ayanagar, Ridge and Najafgarh weather stations recorded light rainfall. Forecasting agencies have said light to moderate rainfall is likely in the capital for a few days from Saturday.

Delhi and other parts of northwest India have not seen much rainfall over the last few days as the monsoon trough continues to be over central parts of the country. The trough will shift towards the north for a brief period and may lead to light to moderate rainfall in Delhi and other areas Saturday onwards. Only marginal relief is expected, said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather.

Thereafter, it is likely to weaken due to the development of a cyclonic circulation over the northwest Bay of Bengal which is predicted to intensify into a low-pressure area. Models show that this low-pressure area is likely to move northwestwards across Uttar Pradesh, pulling the monsoon trough towards it. This may yield a fresh spell of rainfall in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Palawat said.

After surplus rains in July, the Safdarjung Observatory has recorded just 20.1 mm of rainfall so far in August against a normal of 76.6 mm. Overall, it has logged 330.9 mm of precipitation against a normal of 360.4mm since June 1, when the monsoon season starts.