After rain, Delhi sees lowest maximum temperature in a month

NEW DELHI: Light to moderate showers lashed several parts of Delhi, while hailstorms hit a few areas in north Delhi on Saturday.
Rain and cloudy skies led to a dip in day temperature to 25.3 degrees Celsius, five degrees below normal. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a 'yellow' alert for Sunday and Monday.
Saturday's maximum temperature was 5.1 degrees Celsius less than Friday. Delhi last recorded a lower maximum temperature on February 15 at 23.2 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature settled at 18.2 degrees Celsius, two degrees above normal.
According to IMD, Safdarjung, city's base station, logged 2.2 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 8.30 pm. Ayanagar, Palam and Lodhi Road received 8.4mm, 3.3mm and 3mm of rainfall, respectively, during the same period. Gurgaon reported 38.5mm of rainfall, while Noida saw 4.5mm of rainfall during the same period.
Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist and head, regional weather forecasting centre, IMD, said, "Rain was received in Delhi-NCR under the influence of a western disturbance. However, the western disturbance would move eastward on Saturday night and another western disturbance would impact northwest India from Sunday."
He added, "Rain activity is likely to be reduced on Sunday, but may intensify on Monday."
The rain intensity is likely to be subdued on Tuesday.
After the influence of the western disturbance is over, the day temperature is likely to start rising again. The maximum temperature is expected to touch 30 degrees Celsius on March 22 and may rise further to 31 degrees on March 23.
Delhi's air quality, meanwhile, continued to remain in the 'moderate' category with an air quality index of 184. It is likely to deteriorate and reach the 'poor' category on Sunday and Monday.
Flooding hits traffic in Gurgaon, Noida
An intense spell of rain made traffic crawl in Gurgaon where several parts were inundated on Saturday. Waterlogging was reported at several key junctions, including Narsinghpur service road, Hero Honda Chowk, Basai Chowk, Khandsa, Sohna Road and Subhash Chowk, which resulted in snarls.
Showers choked the evening commute in several parts of Noida, too, including the Sector 60 underpass, Lal Kuan, Dadri and Kisan Chowk, which got waterlogged. Parts of Noida Extension and Shahberi also reported flooding.