Rain in Delhi, more in store on Tuesday, says IMD

The Capital on Monday saw a rise in temperatures even as some parts recorded very light rain, with the India Meteorological Department forecasting isolated light rain for Tuesday.

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From Wednesday onwards, clear skies are expected to return, and the mercury will gradually increase towards the end of the week, the weather department predicted.

Safdarjung, representational of Delhi’s weather, recorded “trace” rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Monday.

The maximum temperature stood at 32.2 degrees Celsius, and the minimum at 16.8 degrees -- both more than Sunday’s high of 30.3 degrees and low of 14.9 degrees Celsius. On Saturday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 28.4 degrees Celsius.

Apart from Safdarjung, Palam and Lodhi road also recorded “trace” rainfall on Monday. Trace rainfall is equivalent to drizzle in an area. The highest amount of rainfall was recorded in southwest Delhi’s Jafarpur (8.5mm).

“We saw light rain in Delhi, mainly around south and southwest Delhi. More rain was recorded in Haryana, with thunderclouds making their way to the Capital in the afternoon,” said a Met official, adding that the impact of the current western disturbance will start reducing from Tuesday onwards.

“While there is possibility of some parts of Delhi recording very light rain on Tuesday too, we will see no rain from Wednesday onwards. With moisture reducing, we will also see clear skies returning, which will mean a higher maximum,” the official added.

IMD has forecast Delhi’s maximum to hover around 31-32 degrees Celsius till Friday, before rising to 33 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 34 degrees by Sunday. So far this year, the highest maximum temperature recorded was at 34.3 degrees Celsius on March 15 this year. The second half of March saw three western disturbances, leading to a substantial drop in the maximum temperature.

In terms of air quality, Delhi’s air remained in the “moderate” range on Monday, but showed a slight deterioration. While Monday’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 179 (moderate), according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s national bulletin at 4pm on Monday, Sunday’s average AQI was 128 (moderate).

Forecasts show that AQI is likely to remain in the moderate range till April 12.

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CPCB classifies an AQI between 0-50 as “good”, between 51 and 100 as “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 as “moderate”, between 201 and 300 as “poor”, between 301 and 400 as “very poor”, and over 400 as “severe”. Forecasts show the AQI is likely to remain in the moderate range till April 12.

“Delhi’s air quality is likely to remain in the moderate category from Tuesday until Thursday. The outlook for the subsequent six days also shows that air quality is likely to remain in the moderate category,” according to the Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi, which is a forecasting model under the ministry of earth sciences.