Delhi has welcome rain, more expected Friday

Denizens of the city were in for a pleasant surprise as rain lashed the city Thursday, bringing a much-needed respite from the scorching heat. The Met office has forecast more rain Friday.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the capital received a total of 14.6 mm of rainfall till 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

With sunny skies, hot air and no forecast of rain, it was like any other summer day for Delhiites as they reeled under the blistering sun till Thursday afternoon. However, towards the evening, skies became overcast and the city was lashed by a dust storm followed by a heavy downpour.

"It was so hot in the afternoon that even the air conditioner in the Delhi Metro was ineffective. The rain has brought a lot of relief. I hope the weather remains this way over the weekend," said Astha Khurana, an HR executive who went to India Gate after her office hours to enjoy the weather.

According to weather office, the rain was caused by a western disturbance, and more rain is expected Friday.

"The skies will be cloudy tomorrow (Friday) and parts of the city will get rain and thunderstorm," said the IMD official.

Western disturbance is an extra-tropical storm system originating in the Mediterranean that brings sudden rain or snow to the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.

The maximum and minimum temperatures Friday are expected to hover around 41 and 29 degrees Celsius.

According to Delhi Police, traffic jams were reported in some parts of the city as rainwater accumulated on the roads and some trees were uprooted by the storm.

Traffic jams were reported from Tughlak Road, Prithviraj Road in the New Delhi area, Outer Ring Road near Lajpat Rai Marg, and Okhla in south Delhi, and Rani Bagh, Patel Nagar in west Delhi.

Despite the rain Thursday, the maximum temperature settled three notches above average at 43.2 degrees Celsius. The minimum was two notches below average at 25.7 degrees.

The day's humidity wavered between a high of 92 and a low of 37 percent.

The maximum and minimum temperatures Wednesday settled at 43.6 and 30.5 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average.