Heavy rainfall lashed Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Tuesday afternoon, bringing much-needed relief from the prevailing heat, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued weather
alerts warning of thunderstorms, lightning and strong winds across the region.
According to the IMD’s district-level nowcast, a red alert has been issued for parts of north Delhi, where moderate rainfall is expected at many places, and heavy rain is likely at isolated locations.
The weather office has warned that thunderstorms, lightning and strong winds with speeds of up to 70 kmph could accompany the rain in these areas.
For the remaining parts of Delhi, the IMD has issued an orange alert, forecasting moderate rainfall at most places along with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds reaching speeds of 50-60 kmph.
The afternoon showers provided relief to residents after an extremely humid morning.
Earlier in the day, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 30 degrees Celsius, the highest minimum temperature since July 2, 2024, when it stood at 30.7 degrees Celsius.
According to the IMD, the “feels like” temperature at 8.30 am touched 44.7 degrees Celsius as relative humidity remained at 79 per cent, making outdoor conditions particularly uncomfortable before the rains arrived.
The weather department has forecast generally cloudy skies with moderate rainfall during the day, while the maximum temperature is expected to settle around 36 degrees Celsius.
Among the city’s weather stations, Lodhi Road recorded a minimum temperature of 30.4 degrees Celsius, Palam 28.3 degrees Celsius, Ayanagar 28.6 degrees Celsius and Ridge 24.9 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the IMD has forecast continued wet weather across Delhi-NCR over the next five days, with residents likely to witness cloudy skies, light to moderate rainfall, thunderstorms and gusty winds.
According to the district-wise forecast issued by the Urban Meteorological Services for Delhi-NCR on July 7, similar weather conditions are expected across all 15 districts, including North, South, East, West, Central and New Delhi, besides the NCR districts of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad.
The IMD has issued a yellow warning for July 7, 8 and 9.
On July 7, the forecast is for generally cloudy skies with spells of very light to light rain at many places and moderate rain at isolated locations, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and strong winds of 30-40 kmph, gusting up to 50 kmph during the afternoon.
Another spell of rainfall is expected later at night.
Similar weather conditions are likely on July 8, with light rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds during the afternoon.
On July 9, the weather department expects light to moderate rainfall at isolated places, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds during the morning or forenoon, followed by another spell of very light to light rain at night.
The warning level has been reduced to green for July 10 and 11.
However, the IMD has still forecast generally cloudy skies with the possibility of very light to light rainfall, thunderstorms and lightning during the forenoon or afternoon on both days.
The forecast also covers adjoining NCR regions, including Panipat, Meerut, Noida, Faridabad, Rewari, Alwar and Gurugram.
The IMD has advised residents to remain cautious during thunderstorms and avoid exposure to lightning and strong winds over the next three days.
The weather agency also said the southwest monsoon has advanced further into parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana and is likely to cover the remaining parts of the country over the next two to three days.
