Delhi is likely to witness light rain, thunderstorm and gusty winds from Thursday onwards, bringing relief from the ongoing heatwave conditions that pushed mercury above 44 degrees Celsius across the Capital on Wednesday.
According to the India Meteorological Department, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 44.3 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, 3.9 notches above normal, while the minimum settled at 26.2 degrees Celsius.
Several parts of Delhi recorded even higher temperature during the day. The Ridge station logged 45.6 degrees Celsius, Ayanagar recorded 45.4 degrees Celsius, while Palam and Lodhi Road registered 44.6 degrees Celsius each.
The Weather Department said there would be “no large change” in maximum temperature over the next 24 hours, followed by a fall of 6 to 8 degrees Celsius over the subsequent three days.
For Thursday, the IMD has issued a yellow alert, forecasting partly cloudy skies becoming generally cloudy by evening along with light rain, thunderstorm and lightning activity during the night.
The maximum temperature on Thursday is expected to remain between 42 and 44 degrees Celsius, while the minimum is likely to hover between 27 and 29 degrees Celsius.
For Friday, the IMD upgraded the alert level to orange and forecast more intense thunderstorm activity along with strong winds.
The weather office predicted generally cloudy skies with very light to light rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning during the morning and afternoon hours. Wind speeds may reach 60-70 kmph with gusts up to 80 kmph during the morning and 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph later in the day.
A significant drop in daytime temperature is also expected on Friday, with the maximum likely to settle between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius.
The IMD has forecast continued chances of light rain and thunderstorms through Saturday and Sunday, with gusty winds of up to 50 kmph likely during this period.
According to official data, the city’s peak electricity demand touched 8,084 MW at 3.26 pm on Wednesday, continuing the trend of high power consumption amid persistent heatwave conditions.
Meanwhile, air quality in the Capital deteriorated further, with the Air Quality Index touching 345 at 4 pm on Wednesday, placing Delhi in the “very poor” category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
