Till 7 a.m., the national capital region had been experiencing light-to-moderate rainfall, accompanied by strong winds of around 75 km/hr, causing flight disruptions and flooding in several parts of Delhi.
This is the first moderate-to-high intensity storm of the season, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), as March and April only saw dry thunder spells. The storm also caused a sharp drop in minimum temperature today, with a drop of 11 degrees Celsius occurring between 5:40 and 7 a.m. (18).
On Monday morning, Delhi’s minimum temperature was 17.1 degrees Celsius, nine degrees below normal for this time of year, compared to 23.1 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
“The highest wind speed of around 75 km/hr was also recorded at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport at 7 a.m.” “This spell is likely to have a cooling effect for the next few days as well, keeping the heatwave at bay until at least May 28,” said RK Jenamani, an IM scientist.
Between 6 and 8 a.m., wind speeds remained consistent between 40 and 55 km/hr, with a maximum speed of 75 km/hr reported at 6:56 a.m., he said.
Such summer storms, according to meteorologists, are not uncommon. This year, however, Delhi has not experienced any active western disturbances large enough to bring such heavy rain or strong winds.
“This is the season’s first moderate-to-high-intensity storm. We consider the summer season to begin on March 1st, and while we typically see 12-14 days of thunderstorms from March to May end, we have only seen 4-5 days this year. Jenamani added, “They’ve mostly been dry thunder spells.”
According to IMD data, Safdarjung, the base station for Delhi’s weather records, received 12.3 mm of rain until 8:30 a.m. today, while Ayanagar received 52.2 mm. Palam received 27.6 millimetres of rain, while the Lodhi road area and the Ridge received 13.8 millimetres and 14.2 millimetres, respectively.
