Hailstorm in parts of Delhi, strong winds bring maximum temp down by up to 10°C

NEW DELHI: After a hot day, the weather took a sudden turn on Wednesday night as rain and gusty winds of up to 98 kmph swept across the city. It led to a drop in mercury by 10 degrees Celsius. Parts of Delhi, including Green Park, Dhaula Kuan, Uttam Nagar and Moti Bagh, also witnessed hailstorms.

Due to the thunderstorm, six Delhi-bound flights were diverted to Chandigarh, Jaipur and Lucknow, while six flights initiated a go-around. A go-around is a procedure in which an aircraft aborts its landing and returns into the air for another attempt. According to FlightRadar24, a live flight-tracking website, over 500 flights were delayed during the day.

Palam recorded the maximum wind speed of 98 kmph at 8 pm, while the wind speed was 72 kmph at Safdarjung and Pusa. It touched 46 kmph at Pitampura, 31 kmph at Mayur Vihar and 30 kmph at Janakpuri.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 39.2 degrees Celsius, which is near normal for this time of the year, at the city’s base station, Safdarjung, on Wednesday. It was 39 degrees Celsius a day earlier. The heat index, or “feels-like” temperature, was 43.9 degrees Celsius at 5.30 pm on Wednesday.

However, after rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds and a hailstorm hit Delhi, it led to a sudden drop in temperatures. The mercury was 35 degrees Celsius before the thunderstorm at Safdarjung, which dipped to 25 degrees Celsius following the thunderstorm. At Palam, the mercury dropped by 9 degrees Celsius; by 11 degrees Celsius at Najafgarh; 10.1 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar; 8.1 degrees Celsius at Janakpuri; and 5.2 degrees Celsius at Pragati Maidan following the thunderstorm.

Parts of Delhi saw a drizzle on Wednesday morning and another spell of rain at night. Safdarjung, along with Palam and Lodhi Road, saw just ‘trace’ rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, while the Ridge observatory in north Delhi logged 0.2 mm of rainfall. Between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm, Safdarjung received 1.8 mm, Palam 2 mm, Janakpuri 1 mm and Jafarpur 0.5 mm of rainfall.

However, rain is unlikely from Thursday onwards and the mercury is expected to rise. “A gradual rise in maximum temperature is likely by 3-5 degrees Celsius during the next six days,” said a Met official.

India Meteorological Department has predicted that the day temperature is likely to stay between 38 and 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday. It may touch 42 degrees Celsius by Sunday.

The minimum temperature on Wednesday settled at 26.4 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal. It is likely to remain between 26 and 28 degrees Celsius over the next three days.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality continued to remain in the ‘moderate’ category, with an AQI of 147. It was 170 the previous day.