Heavy rain and hail hit parts of Delhi on Saturday. (representative)
New Delhi:
Parts of Delhi were battered by rain and hail on Saturday, and the maximum temperature was five notches below the season average at 25.3 degrees Celsius, the coldest so far this month, officials said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the observatory at Aya Nagar recorded the highest rainfall of 8.4 mm, followed by Palam at 3.3 mm and Lodhi Road at 3 mm.
The minimum temperature was 18.2 degrees Celsius, two grades above normal.
The national capital also witnessed flooding in several areas, including Burari.
Delhi Traffic Police received three calls about flooding near Tikri border, Bagga Link roundabout in Karol Bagh and Loni Road roundabout, officials said.
Commuters also complained about traffic problems in some areas, including Bhikaji Cama Place, Jain Nagar and the route from Khajoori to Bhajanpura.
Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s Regional Forecasting Centre, said: “An active western disturbance in northwestern India has caused rain and hail in parts of the region. Another western disturbance will start affecting the region (from) Sunday…generally Cloudy skies and intermittent rains in NW India will continue until March 20-21.
“Precipitation activity is expected to peak on March 20. Wet weather will keep mercury temperatures under control. Hailstorms are expected in parts of NW India (including Delhi-NCR) on March 20.” Strong winds and hailstorms likely Can damage plantations, horticulture and unharvested crops. The IMD warned that the hail could also harm people and cattle in the open, while strong winds could damage fragile structures and “kuccha” houses, walls and huts.
It advises people to stay indoors and not hide under trees, lie on concrete floors or lean against concrete walls. It also urges people to stay away from bodies of water.
At 6pm, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded 170, which falls into the ‘moderate’ category.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good,” 51 and 100 are “satisfactory,” 101 and 200 are “moderate,” 201 and 300 are “poor,” 301 and 400 are “very poor,” and 401 and 500 are “fair.” is “serious”.
The Metropolitan Office is forecasting mostly cloudy with light rain for Sunday. Highs and lows are likely to hold steady at around 27 and 17 degrees Celsius respectively.
Delhi recorded a minimum of 17.2C on Friday, a notch above the seasonal average, while daytime temperatures held steady at 30.4C.
(Aside from the title, this story is unedited by NDTV staff and published via a syndicated feed.)
