Delhi witnessed a dramatic shift in weather on Wednesday, as sudden rain, gusty winds, and a steep drop in temperatures brought back a winter-like chill to the capital. The change was triggered by an active western disturbance over northwest India, which intensified rapidly on Wednesday evening.
Strong winds of up to 68 km/h swept across parts of the city, followed by short but intense spells of rain. Within just an hour, temperatures plunged sharply - from around 29 degrees Celsius to nearly 19 degrees Celsius - catching residents off guard and disrupting normal life, including flight operations at Indira Gandhi Airport (IGI) Airport.
Weather experts described the weather system bringing rain over North India as rare, giving more details on the unusual nature of this system. Forecasts suggest multiple spells of rain and gusty winds over the next couple of days, keeping temperatures well below the seasonal average.
The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Thursday and Friday, forecasting multiple spells of light rain and gusty winds of up to 50 kmph. The maximum temperature, which was 33.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday — two degrees above normal — was expected to drop to 28–30 degrees Celsius on Thursday and further to 26–28 degrees Celsius by Friday.
