Major temperature drop in Delhi-NCR after rain brings relief from days of punishing heat

Across the Capital, a majority of weather stations witnessed a temperature drop of around five degrees Celsius.  Ayanagar witnessed an 11-degree Celsius fall, Mehrauli around 10 degrees Celsius and Narayana around 6 degrees Celsius. Gurgaon recorded a fall of nearly 12 degrees Celsius.

Strong gusty winds accompanied the thunderstorm activity. Palam recorded wind speeds of up to 61 kmph. Pusa logged gusts of 52 kmph while Safdarjung and Pitampura recorded wind speeds touching 37 kmph.

According to IMD scientists, the thunderstorm activity was triggered by a combination of meteorological factors, including intense surface heating over Northwestern India over the past several days, interaction of a western disturbance with moisture-laden easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal, and mid-level westerly winds.

Maximum temperature ranged between 42-45 degrees Celsius over the past several days in the Capital. The IMD said heatwave to severe heatwave conditions prevailing over large parts of Northwest India are likely to abate significantly from Thursday onward. However, isolated pockets over Rajasthan, Vidarbha and east Madhya Pradesh may continue to experience heatwave conditions briefly before easing further from Friday.

Officials said an unusually high concentration of moisture-bearing easterlies from the Bay of Bengal was observed over the Capital and adjoining areas, creating favourable conditions for intense thunderstorm development, squally winds and isolated hailstorms.

IMD senior scientist Krishna Mishra said humidity levels rose sharply due to a shift in wind direction from dry westerlies to moist easterlies. “The dew point increased significantly.. from around 6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday to nearly 21 degrees Celsius on Thursday,” Mishra said. Dew point is an indicator of actual moisture present in the atmosphere, and a sharp increase reflects significantly higher humidity levels.

Experts added that the weather activity was also influenced by a western disturbance over the Himalayan region and an induced cyclonic circulation over Rajasthan and adjoining areas.

The weather department has forecast continued thunderstorm activity over Delhi-NCR over the next three days. According to the IMD forecast bulletin, Delhi is likely to witness generally cloudy skies along with spells of light rain, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds till at least May 31.

On Friday, wind speeds during intense spells may continue to reach 60-70 kmph, gusting up to 80 kmph, especially during morning and afternoon hours. Similar thunderstorm activity accompanied by light rain and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph has been forecast for May 30 and 31 as well.

The IMD has also forecast a sharp fall in temperatures over Delhi during the next two days. Maximum temperatures are expected to fall by 8-10 degrees Celsius till May 30, while minimum temperatures may drop by 4-5 degrees Celsius during the same period before gradually rising again early next week.