Weather Update: Delhi-NCR witnesses rain amid IMD warnings of thunderstorms, know full forecast

Delhi NCR region witnessed light rain at few places on Thursday evening amid IMD warnings of strong winds and thunderstorms. The rainspell brought much relief to the otherwise scorching heat. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued warnings of rain, thunderstorms and strong winds for Friday. It did not mention such for Thursday only except a warning of light to moderate rain. However, for Friday the IMD has given a forcast of rains, thunderstorms and strong winds and issued an orange alert for the region. 

According to the IMD, Delhi is expected to brace strong winds of upto 70 km/hour. The IMD has upgraded the yellow alert for the region to orange alert. “Residents should be alert and prepared for potentially disruptive weather,” said the IMD. After red alert, orange is the highest alert for weather changes and updates which signals that it can cause heavy damage it changes to extreme.  “There are chances of some very light to light rain now. On Thursday, similar rain activity is expected, with the intensity even higher on Friday,” an IMD official said. 

The weather department did not issue orange alert for the NCR region like Gurgaon and Faridabad, while Ghaziabad and Noida was expected to witness light rains and thunderstorms on Friday. In this month, Delhi recorded 186.4 mm of rainfall, highest ever for May. May has been going far more humid than previous years. Before this, the last such record was in May 2008 when the rains were recorded 165 mm. The average rainfall for the month is only 30.7 mm.

The IMD has a forecast of more days of rains, wet weather, in the next few days. Last Sunday, flights were delayed and power cuts occurred due to heavy rain and a thunderstorm. The IMD has also said that this year, the southwest monsoon is moving faster than its usual speed. Mostly monsoon arrives in Delhi by the end of June, around 27 June, but May alone has witnessed many wet days than usual. The weather department has not yet announced an expected date for its onset in the capital.