Rain lashes parts of Delhi-NCR, people get respite from heatwave

Delhi NCR rains: Light rainfall accompanied by strong winds in several parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) brought much-needed relief from heatwave on Sunday. A fresh bout of rainfall lashed parts of the national capital today (June 23), bringing respite to the people after they had been battling the heatwave in the region for the past two months. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast partly cloudy conditions in Delhi for Saturday and Sunday that were expected to bring relief from the simmering heat conditions.

Earlier, the weather department said that the monsoon is expected to hit Delhi-NCR around June 30. The extreme heatwave had pushed Delhi's power demand. According to the State Load Dispatch Centre data, at 3:22 pm on June 18, Delhi's peak power demand clocked 8,647 MW. It is the highest ever in the history of the national capital.

Noida rains

Rains also showered in parts of Noida city in Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the IMD issued a red alert for Kerala and Mahe over the weekend. The region is expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall to extremely heavy falls on Saturday and Sunday. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected from Monday to Wednesday, the Met Office said. The weather department has also issued Red alerts for South Interior Karnataka, Konkan and Goa, and coastal Karnataka. An orange alert has also been issued for Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Madhya Maharashtra, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.

Delhi records 29.6 degree Celsius minimum temperature

The national capital today had cloudy sky with the possibility of light rain or a drizzle, the weather office said earlier in the day. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 29.6 degree Celsius, two notches above the season's average, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 40 degree Celsius, The humidity was recorded at 67 per cent at 8.30 am, it said. According to the Met department, rain accompanied by thunderstorm is expected on Monday and Tuesday.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital was recorded in the moderate category with a reading of 152 at 10 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

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