Delhi received a spell of rain on Tuesday afternoon, providing much-needed relief from prolonged sultry weather. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red and orange alerts for thunderstorms and strong winds.
IMD Alerts and Forecast
The IMD placed north Delhi under a red alert, forecasting moderate rainfall at many places, heavy rain at isolated locations, thunderstorms, lightning, and strong winds up to 70 kmph. The rest of the city remained under an orange alert, with moderate rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds of 50-60 kmph.
For the next two days, the IMD has forecast generally cloudy skies with light to moderate rain, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds of up to 50 kmph during the morning and towards evening or night. A yellow alert has been issued for Wednesday and Thursday, with intermittent showers expected and daytime temperatures likely to remain between 32 and 34 degrees Celsius.
Temperature and Rainfall Data
The showers brought down temperatures after Monday’s sweltering conditions, when high humidity pushed the “feel-like” temperature to 49.6 degrees Celsius in parts of the city. Safdarjung, the city’s base observatory, recorded a maximum temperature of 37.2 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 30 degrees Celsius. The station recorded 11.9 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Tuesday.
Rainfall varied significantly across the city. Najafgarh received the highest rainfall at 84 mm, followed by Ridge (50.1 mm), Pusa (41.5 mm), Ayanagar (32.6 mm), Mayur Vihar (19 mm), Palam (15.4 mm), Rajghat (14.6 mm), Lodi Road (13.2 mm), and Safdarjung (11.9 mm).
Previous Heat and Humidity
The relief came a day after Delhi recorded its hottest July day in two years for the second consecutive day. On Monday, Safdarjung registered a maximum temperature of 38.6 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, matching Sunday’s reading. It was the warmest July day in the Capital since July 11, 2024, when the mercury touched 38.8 degrees Celsius.
Despite the rainfall, humidity remained high, touching 100 per cent, suggesting muggy conditions are likely to persist between spells of rain.
