Delhi reeled under sultry weather conditions on Thursday as rains continued to play truant. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday said moderate rainfall on Saturday may bring down the temperature to 33 degrees Celsius.
However, rain continued to elude the Capital.
The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded a maximum temperature of 39.1 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal. However, the wet bulb temperature in Delhi stood at 30.5 degrees Celsius, which gives the feeling of 50 degree Celsius. The minimum temperature settled at 30 degrees Celsius which was two notches above the normal for this season.
Though the monsoon arrived in the Capital in an impressive manner on June 30, giving the city its first spell of heavy rainfall this season, scanty precipitation in the subsequent days has led to a gradual rise in the maximum temperature.
The IMD had earlier issued an orange alert for moderate rainfall on Wednesday which was later shifted to Thursday.
The relative humidity at Delhi's Base station, Safdarjung Observatory recorded 75 per cent at 8:30 in the morning and 52 per cent at 5:30 in the evening, stated the weather station.
According to the data released by the IMD the observatories at Ridge, Ayanagar, Najafgarh, Pitampura, Palam, and Lodhi Road recorded maximum temperatures of 37.2 degrees Celsius, 37.8 degrees Celsius, 39.8 degrees Celsius, 39.4 degrees Celsius, 38.5 degrees Celsius and 39.3 degrees Celsius respectively.
"A low pressure area had developed over Odisha and travelled to Gujarat.
“It had pulled the trough towards central India, leading to heavy rainfall there," said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather. The weather system has now moved to south Pakistan and started degenerating.
The western end of the monsoon trough will again shift towards the north. A cyclonic circulation is also developing over central Pakistan. It could result in heavy rainfall at some places in Punjab and Haryana on Saturday and Sunday, he said.
The IMD predicted that isolated and scattered rainfall activity with isolated thunderstorm/lightning very likely over East Uttar Pradesh during next five days and over West Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh-Delhi and Rajasthan on 7th and 8th and increase thereafter becoming fairly widespread to widespread rainfall activity likely over the region during July 9, 10, 2022.
"Isolated heavy rainfall is likely over Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh on 7, 8 and 10; West Uttar Pradesh during 8 to 10; Rajasthan on July 7, 8 and 10, 2022," informed IMD.
The Safdarjung Observatory has recorded just 2.6 mm of rainfall in the last six days.
It has gauged 144.3 mm of rainfall against a normal of 106.5 mm since June 1, when the monsoon season starts. Of this, 117.2 mm came in just 24 hours ending at 8:30 am on July 1.