Heavy rain lashes parts of Delhi, nearby areas
Several parts of Delhi recorded moderate to heavy rain and thundershowers early on Sunday morning for the second consecutive day. The national capital's Safdarjung weather station reported 2.4mm of rainfall between 8:30 am on Saturday and 5:30 am this morning. Further, 1mm rain was recorded between 3:00 am and 5:30 am today. Here are more updates on this.
Minimum temperature recorded at 9.9 degree Celsius
"There is intense thunder and lightning and light to moderate rain in different parts of the city now," said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head of the regional weather forecasting system. The minimum temperature recorded until 6:30 am was 9.9 degrees Celsius. Delhi had on Saturday recorded a minimum temperature of7 degrees Celsius due to a cloud cover over the city, the weather department said.
Air traffic affected, flights could get delayed
The unfavorable weather conditions prompted airlines to issue advisory for customers. Indian airline SpiceJet urged passengers to check the status of their flights, as they could be affected because of the bad weather. "Due to bad weather (Heavy Rains) in Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status," it tweeted.
However, the air quality remained 'severe'
Despite the rain, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI), at 441, remained in the "severe" category for the second day in a row. In fact, monitoring stations in many areas, including ITO, Sirifort, Mandir Marg, RK Puram, and Punjabi Bagh, witnessed air quality in the "severe" range.
Rainfall likely over North India today and tomorrow
Meanwhile, widespread rainfall, as well as thunderstorms, are likely over several northern regions like Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan, west Uttar Pradesh, and northwest Madhya Pradesh on January 3 and 4. Hailstorm is expected at isolated regions over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, west Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi during the same time period.
