Strong winds barrell through Delhi; thunderstorm, rain to provide relief from heat

Delhiites may get relief from the capital’s heat as a spell of light rain is predicted on Wednesday. Meanwhile, five flights were diverted from Delhi to Jaipur between 3 am and 5:30 am as strong winds barrelled through Delhi in the morning.

“Latest Satellite and radar observations show the movement of an intense convective cloud mass across Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh leading to favourable conditions for light to moderate rainfall with occasional intense spells along with isolated Thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds and hailstorms over the region during next 3-4 hours,” the Indian Meteorological Department said in it latest forecast

Delhi’s primary weather station, the Safdarjung Observatory, registered a minimum temperature of 23.6 degrees Celsius, two notches higher than normal. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 38 degrees Celsius.

Delhi had recorded a maximum temperature of 40.4 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. This was the fourth consecutive day that the maximum temperature settled above 40 degrees Celsius here.

Parts of the capital reeled under heatwave conditions for the third consecutive day on Tuesday.

The threshold for a heatwave is met when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, at least 37 degrees Celsius in coastal areas, and at least 30 degrees Celsius in hilly regions, and the departure from normal is at least 4.5 degrees Celsius.

Earlier this month, the MeT office predicted above-normal maximum temperatures for most parts of the country from April to June, except parts of the northwest and the peninsular regions.

Above-normal heatwave days are expected in most parts of central, east, and northwest India during this period.

In 2022, Delhi recorded its second hottest April since 1951 with a monthly average maximum temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius.

The city saw nine heatwave days in April last year, including four in the first 10 days, which was the maximum in the month since 2010.

(With PTI inputs)