Light rainfall and cloudy skies brought in much-needed relief to Delhi-NCR on Saturday morning, after days of scorching heat. Several areas of the capital city received light showers.
Neighbouring Noida also witnessed rainfall, while a cloud cover was seen over Ghaziabad.
The brief spell of rain and cloudy weather has brought a noticeable dip in temperature in the national capital region, which has been reeling under a ‘severe’ heatwave for the past few days.
The skies had started turning grey in several areas of Delhi during the early hours of Saturday morning, as the sweltering weather suddenly changed to a soft breeze.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a duststorm, followed by light rain, over Delhi-NCR.
The Regional Met Dept said, “Dust storm/followed by Thunderstorm with light rainfall and lightning (40-70 Km/h gusty winds) is very likely to occur at many places of Delhi & NCR, during the next 2 hours.”
The weather agency also predicted a duststorm and rain for several districts of Haryana and Rajasthan.
The spell of intense heat that prevailed over the capital this week showed little sign of relenting as the mercury logged above-normal temperatures on Friday.
On Friday, Ridge recorded a maximum of 44.4 degrees Celsius, 2.2 notches above normal and 0.9 degrees lower than the previous day.
However, the weather agency said no heatwave was recorded in the city, but retained its alert for heatwave conditions in the capital till May 28.
For Saturday, the IMD has forecast a minimum temperature of 28 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 44 degrees Celsius, with an alert for heatwave conditions.
“Till Thursday, winds were blowing from Rajasthan across the Thar Desert, making the air extremely dry and leading to a sharp spike in maximum temperatures,” Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather told PTI. “However, the wind direction has now changed, resulting in a slight dip in temperatures on Friday.”
Palawat said that there is a forecast of very light rain or thunderstorms at isolated places due to a cyclonic circulation over Pakistan and adjoining Punjab and Haryana, “though it is unlikely to have any significant impact on daytime temperatures as the activity is expected during the evening and early morning hours.”
More heatwaves?
Palawat told PTI that the temperatures are likely to rise again tomorrow, with the mercury expected to touch the 45 degrees Celsius mark and heatwave conditions returning as winds are likely to shift back towards the Thar Desert region.
"Such conditions may persist till the end of May. From early June, pre-monsoon activity is expected, which could bring some respite to residents," he added.
