Overnight rains lash Delhi NCR
Highlights
- Delhi had been reeling under severe heatwave conditions since the past few days
- For some places, the IMD had even issued an 'orange alert'
- The IMD has issued a yellow alert, warning of thundershowers or light rain over the next six days
Delhi rain news: Delhi and its adjoining regions woke up to clear skies and a pleasant morning on Thursday as overnight rain and thundershowers brought down the minimum temperature by four degrees Celsius. According to the weather department, the national capital will witness more rain during the day and thundershower towards the evening on Thursday.
“There will be generally cloudy sky and light to moderate thundershowers are expected towards evening or night accompanied with gusty winds,” an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The minimum temperature on Thursday was recorded at 23.8 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average, the weather office stated, adding, that Delhi received 2 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours - from 8.30 am on Wednesday to 8.30 am on Thursday.
The IMD has also issued a yellow alert, warning of thundershowers or light rain over the next six days.
The IMD said that the maximum temperature on Thursday is likely to hover around 39 degrees Celsius.
Delhi and nearby areas had been reeling under intense heatwave conditions with the temperature varying between 44 to 47 degrees Celsius for the past few days, for which, the weather department had even issued an 'orange alert'.
On Wednesday, the maximum temperature had settled at 42.2 degrees Celsius, three notches above the normal.
The relative humidity at 8.30 am was 56 per cent, the weather office said.
Meanwhile, Delhi's air quality was in the moderate category as the AQI was 130 at 8 am on Thursday, Central Pollution Control Board data showed.
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'.
Is Delhi prepared to handle monsoon rain?
A week earlier, Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had directed officials to take steps to prevent waterlogging and caving in of roads and footpaths during monsoon, asserting that they are on the same page on anything aimed at the well-being of Delhiites.
In a high-level meeting, which was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Saxena and Kejriwal directed the officials to build concrete cemented roads instead of bitumen ones at sites prone to waterlogging and flooding, according to a statement issued by the LG's office.
Saxena also directed the officials to simultaneously start the exercise of creating sink holes with 6-8 inches diameter, lined with perforated pipes and covered suitably at sites prone to waterlogging to speed up surface runoff and help groundwater recharge.
During the meeting, it was also decided that the silt from drains be lifted immediately so that it does not wash down into the drains.
The officials were also asked to finalise the Drainage Master Plan, which has been pending for years, with the help of experts and domain-specific agencies.
(With inputs from agencies)
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