IMD forecasts isolated thunderstorms and rain in Delhi

Parts of the national capital, New Delhi and adjoining areas, will receive isolated thunderstorms with rain on Thursday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its latest forecast.

“Light to moderate rain accompanied by moderate thunderstorm with lightning and hailstorm (wind speed 50-60 kmph) very likely over parts of East Delhi, Shahadra, Central Delhi, North East Delhi, West Delhi, North West Delhi, North Delhi,” the Regional Weather Office said.

“Light rain accompanied with moderate thunderstorms with lightning (wind speed 50-60 kmph) is very likely over the remaining parts of Delhi,” it added.

According to the IMD, hailstorms and thunderstorms with light to moderate rainfall and lightning, along with gusty winds of 30 to 40 kmph, are very likely at isolated places, including Dilshad Garden, Seemapuri, Seelampur, Shahdara, Vivek Vihar, Preet Vihar, and adjoining areas of Noida.

Light to moderate rainfall, along with thunderstorms and lightning, is also expected at a few places, such as Civil Lines, Kashmiri Gate, Red Fort, Rajeev Chowk, ITO, India Gate, Akshardham, Nehru Stadium, Lajpat Nagar, Kalkaji, Tughlakabad and IGNOU during the next two hours, the IMD said.

An Orange alert, which indicates "be prepared", has been issued as the weather department cautioned that gusty winds and lightning could disrupt traffic movement and outdoor activities.

Visuals posted on social media also showed hailstorm in parts of NCR including Noida and Ghaziabad.

According to the weather agency, among its stations across Delhi, Palam recorded a minimum of 24.9 degrees Celsius, Lodhi Road 23.6 degrees Celsius, Ridge 25 degrees Celsius, and Aya Nagar 24.1 degrees Celsius and Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 25.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 36 degrees Celsius, with forecasts indicating thunderstorm activity accompanied by rain in isolated places.

The IMD also said that the maximum day temperatures were in the range of 40°C - 46°C over most parts of the country except the Western Himalayan region, Northeast India and adjoining East India.

The highest maximum temperature of 45.8°C was reported at Banda, Uttar Pradesh, IMD said.

"The skies will be clear on May 1 and 2, but May 3 onwards there is a forecast for thunderstorms and rain till May 5 as another western disturbance is expected to affect Delhi," Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather said.

Earlier, on Wednesday, the IMD had said that an active western disturbance is forecast to bring rain, thunderstorms, hailstorms, and gusty winds to large parts of northern India, including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan.