In the wee hours of Thursday, heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms lashed the national capital amid chilly conditions. The light to moderate rainfall that started on Wednesday morning has resulted in road blockages and waterlogging, further increasing traffic woes.
As per the India Meteorological Department’s prediction on Wednesday, the weather in Delhi is likely to remain the same on Thursday. “One patch is moving across Delhi and is currently giving light to moderate rainfall at a few places, accompanied by moderate to intense thunderstorms and lightning and gusty winds,” said IMD.
Delhi scattered rainfall, more showers predicted in February
On Wednesday, scattered to moderate rainfall in parts of Delhi intensified winter cold as the maximum temperature in the city dropped to 18.6 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season’s normal, according to the IMD.
The national capital recorded a significant drop in maximum temperature after the drizzling, nearly three degrees less than Tuesday’s 21.4 degrees Celsius. Delhi recorded a low 7.3 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season’s average.
The IMD added that it anticipated a rise in rainfall in February, “exceeding 122 percent of the Long Period Average (LPA),” the weather office said. LPA is the average rainfall recorded in a region over a specific period.
Light rainfall is likely to continue in Delhi NCR on Thursday due to a western disturbance, the IMD said.
“Another western disturbance is forecasted for February 2 which will bring potential changes in Delhi’s weather,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist and the head of the weather department.
However, dense fog during the morning and evening will remain the same, Srivastava said.
Light to moderate intensity rain occurred in parts of Delhi, including Punjabi Bagh, Najafgarh, Dwarka, Delhi Cantt, Palam, Safdarjung, Lodi Road, and IGI Airport.
Weather fluctuations are expected to continue till February 3 because of a western disturbance with further changes anticipated from thereon, a senior official said.
Wet spells in northwest India
Two western disturbances in quick succession are likely to affect northwest India during the next 5 days, the India Meteorological Department predicted. Under the influence of these systems, light to moderate rainfall/snowfall is likely over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand till February 4.
Further, scattered to fairly widespread rainfall is predicted in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and East Rajasthan during the next two days,
As per IMD, strong and chilly surface winds of the order of 30-40 kmph will batter the northern states of the country.
Fog to prevail in parts of India
Dense to very dense fog conditions are very likely to prevail in morning hours over some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi on February 2, and in isolated pockets on February 3, 2024.
Isolated pockets of Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, north Madhya Pradesh and Bihar will also see foggy conditions.