IMD issues heatwave alert for Rajasthan; rainy reprieve for Delhi-NCR, Himachal, J-K brace for thunderstorm

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heatwave alert for Rajasthan on Saturday, while forecasting thunderstorms with light rain for the Western Himalayan region.

Check IMD's full forecast for Delhi and other regions here:

IMD forecast for Delhi-NCR

The Met Department said Delhi skies would remain “partly cloudy” for the weekend. On Saturday, the IMD predicted light rain for Delhi-NCR, which will be accompanied by a duststorm.

“Partly cloudy sky becoming generally cloudy sky towards evening. Very light rain/drizzle accompanied by thunderstorm, lightning, dust storm and winds with speed 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph during evening," the IMD forecast read.

The maximum and minimum temperatures over Delhi on Saturday are likely to be between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius and 25 and 27 degrees Celsius, respectively.

While the capital city is expected to have a cloudy sky on Sunday, too, no chance of rain has been forecasted. However, the maximum and minimum temperatures over Delhi are expected to drop marginally to 36 to 38 degrees Celsius and 24 to 26 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Heatwave in Rajasthan

The weather agency said most parts of Rajasthan will experience a severe heatwave on Saturday, which will likely abate from Sunday, April 20.

“Heat wave conditions are very likely at isolated places over Saurashtra & Kutch,” the IMD said.

An isolated duststorm had also been predicted over West Rajasthan on Saturday.

Thunderstorm in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir and other states

Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, and the Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad belt are likely to receive moderate rainfall at most places, accompanied by thunderstorm, lightning and squally winds (speed 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph) over the next few days till April 21, said the IMD.

The Met department said that on Saturday, April 19, these states may experience isolated hailstorms, accompanied by isolated heavy rainfall.

Thunderstorm in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh

The weather agency has predicted isolated rainfall with thunderstorm, lightning and squally winds (speed 30-40 kmph gusting to 50 kmph) for Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh till April 20.

Heavy rainfall over the Sub-Himalayan region

The IMD forecasted heavy rainfall over West Bengal, Sikkim, parts of Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha till April 19.

Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura will likely witness heavy rains until April 24.