Cyclone Biparjoy: Delhi is expected to receive light rains and gusty winds in the next few days under the influence of Cyclone Biparjoy, which is gaining steam in the Arabian Sea. The much-needed rain will bring some relief to the residents of the national capital from the scorching heat. The city is likely to receive light rains or thundershowers, accompanied by gusty winds, on June 18 and 19.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhiites woke up to an overcast sky as the minimum temperature settled at 29.1 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average. The maximum temperature settled at 37.7 degrees Celsius, one notch below the normal. The relative humidity was 51 per cent at 5.30 pm.
Parts of Delhi, including Dwarka, received rainfall on Wednesday, despite there being no forecast for rains. The maximum temperature is expected to be between 35 degrees Celsius and 39 degrees Celsius till June 20, it said.
Cyclone Biparjoy started making landfall
Meanwhile, Cyclone Biparjoy has started making landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat's Kutch district after churning across the Arabian Sea for over 10 days.
Winds of up to 145 kmph and heavy rains battered Kutch and Saurashtra coasts as agencies remain on high alert. The landfall process will be completed by midnight.
Authorities have evacuated around one lakh people living in vulnerable areas following a prompt warning from the IMD about the "extensive damaging potential" of the cyclone. Officials said 15 NDRF teams, 12 teams of the State Disaster Response Force and personnel of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, Indian Coast Guard and Border Security Force have been deployed for relief and rescue operations.
The Met office had earlier warned of very heavy (11.5 cm to 20.4 cm) to extremely heavy rainfall (over 20.5 cm) in Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Rajkot, Morbi and Junagarh districts.
"We won't be surprised if some areas record more than 25 cm of rainfall. Usually, they do not receive such intense precipitation at this time of the year. Therefore, there is a risk of flooding in the low-lying areas," IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra had cautioned.
Meteorologists had warned of extensive damage to standing crops, houses, roads, electricity and communication poles, and flooding of escape routes. Hugh tides could inundate low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch coasts, they said.
(With PTI inputs)
