A sweltering Thursday gave way to a refreshing evening as intense rain and winds up to 60 km/hr swept through the city, dropping temperatures by 6–10°C by 7pm, officials said.
The Met department has issued an “orange” alert for Friday, forecasting multiple spells of light rain and gusty winds up to 80 km/h.
Light rain is also likely over the weekend, ending the month on a relatively cooler note, officials said.
While Delhi’s maximum temperature stood at 41.1°C on Thursday, the “feel-like” temperature or the Heat Index was a season high of 48.2°C, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The minimum temperature was recorded at 28.4°C, two degrees above normal.
Humidity levels were also high, making the outdoors uncomfortable during the day.
However, the situation changed after the rain hit the city around 6:45pm.
Rain also delayed over 500 flights, with one Delhi-bound flight diverted to Jaipur due to the storm, according to FlightRadar24.
An official said the highest wind speed recorded in Delhi was 61 km/hr at Palam.
“Till 8:30pm, Safdarjung logged 3.3mm rainfall, while Palam recorded 3.1mm. Mehrauli saw 6.5mm rainfall till 7pm.”
Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet Weather, said peak rain and wind activity due to the western disturbance is expected on Friday, with gusty winds and widespread rains likely across northwest India.
IMD forecasts no heatwave conditions in Delhi until at least June 3.
While the maximum may dip to around 34°C by Saturday, a gradual rise to 39-41°C is likely by June 3.
The minimum is likely to hover between 23-25°C on Friday.
