Rain, hailstorm cool city, bring flight disruptions

New Delhi: Parts of Delhi got intense spells of rain and hailstorm on Tuesday evening, which made the already pleasant weather cooler.

The extreme weather, particularly in the south-west, led to five flight diversions at Indira Gandhi International Airport between 2 pm and 3.30 pm, airport officials said.

Several areas saw gusty winds, intense rain and hail towards late evening. While IMD issued no colour-coded warning for Wednesday, a thundery development is expected towards late evening. The prevailing western disturbance is likely to be over soon and temperatures will begin to rise.

On Tuesday, the maximum at Safdarjung was 33.6 degrees C, six notches above normal.

IMD expects a gradual rise in temperatures from Thursday onwards, starting at 35-37°C and touching 40°C by Sunday.

Safdarjung recorded 4.6 mm rainfall till 8.30 am, with trace rainfall in the next nine hours. Palam logged trace rainfall till 8.30 am, but 9.8 mm till 5.30 pm. The Ridge got 11.9 mm till 8.30 am. Najafgarh logged 0.5 mm till 8.30 am, and 6.5 mm in the next nine hours.

“There were intense showers and reports of hail, from southwest Delhi in particular,” he said. A maximum wind speed of 39 km/hr was recorded at Pitampura.

The minimum stood at 19.6°C.

Air quality improved. The AQI was 86, the best since Oct 2025.