Delhi sees pleasant weather, AQI improves; heatwave to return next week

Delhi residents woke up to pleasant weather on Sunday as rainfall across the city brought much-needed relief from the intense heatwave. Over the past two to three days, the weather has remained comfortable, with partly cloudy skies, strong winds, light rain and a notable drop in maximum temperature. No heatwave conditions have been reported during this period.

 

Weather update for today

 

India Meteorological Department (IMD) expects the weather to remain pleasant in Delhi with very light rain or drizzle, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and strong surface winds of 30-40 km/h, gusting up to 50 km/h. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 35 degrees Celsius, whereas the minimum temperature is expected to remain near 19 degrees Celsius. Humidity levels are expected to be around 78 per cent. 

 

Sudden storm triggers chaos

 

A sudden dust storm with gusty winds swept through Delhi on Friday evening, disrupting daily life and causing damage. The IMD issued an orange alert, later upgraded to red, warning of thunderstorms, lightning and winds up to 70 km/h. According to ANI reports, over 50 domestic flights were delayed, 25 diverted and seven cancelled at Indira Gandhi International Airport from Friday evening to Saturday morning.

 

Weather forecast for the week

 

The upcoming week will bring heatwave conditions back to Delhi. The IMD has issued a yellow alert for heatwave conditions on three days between April 14 and 20.  Skies will clear from Monday and remain so until April 18, with maximum temperatures likely to rise to 40°C. Strong surface winds at 20–30 km/h are also forecast during the week. The week is however expected to end with pleasant weather conditions.

 

Delhi AQI update

 

Air quality in the capital improved to the 'moderate’ category on Sunday morning after remaining in the 'poor' category for the past few days. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the AQI was recorded at 110 at 8 am on April 13, compared to 119 at the same time on Saturday.

 

AQI across the Delhi-NCR improved, falling into the ‘satisfactory’ or ‘moderate’ category. Delhi’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 166 at 4 pm on April 12. Noida and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh recorded AQIs of 95 and 87, respectively. Ghaziabad’s AQI improved to 98, placing it in the ‘satisfactory’ category.