Light rains, duststorm bring mercury down by 10 degrees in Delhi

Duststorm and light rain brought mercury down by 10 degrees in the national capital, giving much-needed relief to Delhiites who were reeling under intense heat since the last few days.

Air quality, however, continued to remain in the poor category.

Flight operations at the Delhi International Airport were suspended for around 35 minutes in the evening due to poor visibility, airport officials said.

A 15-year-old boy was injured after a wall of his house collapsed due to the duststorm in northeast Delhi's Usmanpur. The boy, Sagar, has been shifted to GTB hospital where he is being treated.

The maximum temperature at Safdarjung observatory was recorded at 41.6 degrees Celsius, two notches above season's average. However, the mercury fell sharply to 29.8 degrees Celsius at 7.30 pm after the thunderstorm hit the city.

In the morning, the minimum temperature was recorded at 31 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average.

According to MeT department officials, the temperature at 2.30 pm was 40 degrees Celsius and at 5.30 pm, it was 40.2 degrees. Following the duststorm and thunderstorm, the mercury fell down to 30 degrees Celsius at 8.30 pm.

According to Kuldeep Srivastava, head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC), IMD, New Delhi, light rains were reported in some parts of the NCR. Thunderstorm and duststorm also helped in bringing down the temperatures, he said.

The Palam observatory recorded a high of 43.4 degrees Celsius and a low of 32.4 degrees Celsius. Lodhi Road recorded a maximum of 40.6 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 31.1 degrees Celsius.

Humidity levels oscillated between 49 per cent and 32 per cent.

The weatherman has forecast partly cloudy sky and possibility of very light rain for Thursday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 43 and 29 degrees Celsius respectively.

Private weather forecaster Skymet Weather said parts of Delhi and NCR could also see "heavy showers".

On Tuesday, the maximum temperature in the city was 44.5 degrees Celsius, five degrees above the season's average.