Delhi gets relief from heat after record rainfall, AQI remains 'moderate'

Delhi braces for more rainfall as IMD has issued a yellow alert for the National Capital Region (NCR), forecasting heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on May 3

Delhi residents woke to pleasant weather with cloudy skies on Saturday morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert, forecasting heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms across the National Capital Region (NCR) on May 3. 

Today's forecast: IMD issues yellow alert

IMD has issued a yellow alert, predicting moderate to heavy rainfall in the national capital. Parts of the Delhi-NCR region are likely to see cloudy skies with light rainfall and strong surface winds of up to 40 kmph. 

 

The warning comes after a record-breaking spell of rain on May 2, with Safdarjung — the city’s primary weather station — logging 77 mm of rain in just six hours between 2:30 am and 8:30 am. This was the second-highest 24-hour May rainfall recorded in Delhi since 1901. The highest was 119.3 mm in May 2021.  The temperature dropped in Delhi after the rain, with the minimum expected to be around 22.2 degrees Celsius, 2.5 degrees below the season's average on Saturday. The maximum temperature will hover around 35 degrees Celsius. 

 

4 killed as rain, thunderstorm wreak havoc

Heavy rain caused widespread damage across the national capital. In Najafgarh, a house collapsed, killing a woman and her three young children after a tree fell on their home during the storm. The victims were identified as Jyoti (26), Aryan (7), Rishabh (5), and Priyansh (7 months), while her husband suffered minor injuries. 

 

In another incident, a 25-year-old construction worker was electrocuted in Green Park after touching an iron gate that had been charged by a broken overhead wire while seeking shelter from the storm.

 

At Indira Gandhi International Airport, flight operations were disrupted, with over 500 flights delayed and three diverted due to poor visibility and strong winds.

Air quality improves to 'moderate' 

Air quality in the capital improved and remained in the ‘moderate’ category on Saturday morning. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 145 at 7 am on May 3, compared to 167 at the same time, a day earlier. The improvement in the AQI can be attributed to strong surface winds and favourable weather conditions. 

  The AQI across Delhi-NCR also moved to the ‘moderate’ or 'satisfactory' category. Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 145 at 4 pm on May 2. In Gurugram, the AQI dropped to 168, placing it in the 'moderate' category. Noida and Greater Noida recorded AQIs of 110 and 98, respectively. Ghaziabad’s AQI was recorded at 108.