Curated By: Asmita Ravi Shankar
News18.com
Last Updated: March 30, 2024, 10:22 IST
New Delhi, India
A man quenches his thirst on a hot summer day in Delhi. (File Image: PTI)
With the maximum temperature settling at 37.8 degrees Celsius, Delhi on Friday recorded the warmest day of the year so far. Part of the national capital and its neighbouring areas also witnessed rain and hailstorm.
The weather department said that the maximum temperature was five notches above the season’s average, while the minimum temperature — 20.5 degrees Celsius — was two notches above the normal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that although the day started on a sunny note, the sky turned overcast in the evening with some parts of the city receiving light rain.
It further predicted thundershowers in the national capital on Saturday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 36 and 20 degrees Celsius, the weather department said.
Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the Regional Meteorological Centre said, “Despite increasing temperatures, the presence of cloudy skies and light showers in Delhi prevented heat from being felt.”
In its evening bulleting on Friday, IMD said that rainfall and hailstorm with gusty winds of speeds of 40 to 60 km/hour were likely to occur in isolated pockets of Delhi — Jafarpur, Najafgarh and Indira Gandhi International Airport — Haryana’s Gurguram, Manesar, Gannaur, Sonipat, Kharkhoda, Farukhnagar, Palwal, Aurangabad and Hodal.
Isolated of areas of Uttar Pradesh, including Baraut, Meerut, Modinagar, Jattari and Khair are likely to witness hailstorm and rains.
The weather department predicted thunderstorm with light to moderate rainfall for these areas:
The national capital, on March 27, recorded its second-highest maximum temperature this year at 37 degrees Celsius, the weather department said.
IMD predicted isolated hailstorm over Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh and Uttarakhand on Saturday. While the local weather office said that increased rains and hailstorm can be expected in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh, an India Today report said.
Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh on Friday received isolated heavy rainfall and snowfall. An avalanche warning was also issued for levels above 2,400 metres over Kupwara, Bandipore, Ganderbal and Baramulla.
(With PTI inputs)