Rains likely to end week-long sultry spell in Delhi Sunday

The city residents reeled under sultry weather on Friday as rains continued to elude the national capital.

However, light rains may provide some reprieve on Saturday evening, the weather department said.

On Friday, the city recorded a high of 36.7 degrees Celsius, two notches more than normal, and a low of 28 degrees Celsius. Humidity levels shot up to 82 per cent.

The Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) said Delhi's overall air quality was recorded in the "satisfactory" category.

An increase in rainfall is expected in the western Himalayan region, including Delhi, on Saturday. As a result, the city's air quality is likely to improve to the 'good' category by Sunday, it said.

Kuldeep Srivastava, a senior scientist at the India Meteorological Department, said the dry spell is likely to end on Saturday. Moderate rains are expected at a few places in the Delhi-NCR region.

This fresh spell of rains will continue till September 3, he said.

"A low-pressure is is likely to develop in the Bay of Bengal on September 2. Also, a cyclonic circulation currently lies over north Madhya Pradesh and eastern Uttar Pradesh. These two systems will also affect weather in the northern plains,"Srivastava said.

Between June 1, when the monsoon season starts, and August 30, the city has recorded 330 cm rains against the 30-year average of 521.8 cm -- a shortfall of 37 percent, the IMD data showed.

In August, the national capital has recorded 119.6 cm precipitation against the long-term average of 245.7 cm -- a deficiency of 51 percent.