New Delhi, March 20 – Delhi woke up to light rain and breezy weather on Friday morning, with the minimum temperature settling at 16 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degrees below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The weather office has issued a yellow alert for the city. "Very light rain/drizzle accompanied by thunderstorms is likely at most places, with moderate rain at isolated locations over the next two hours," the IMD said.
A yellow alert requires citizens to be aware and prepare for moderate to severe weather conditions that could cause disruption.
Station-wise data showed that Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 14.7 degrees Celsius, 1.7 degrees below normal. Lodhi Road logged 15.8 degrees Celsius, 0.8 degrees above normal, while the Ridge recorded 15.1 degrees Celsius, 2.6 degrees below normal. Ayanagar reported 16 degrees Celsius, 0.2 degrees below normal.
In the last 24 hours, Safdarjung recorded 6.6 mm of rainfall, Palam 5.4 mm, Lodhi Road 6.3 mm, Ridge 7.4 mm, and Ayanagar 5.6 mm, the IMD said.
The weather department attributed the current conditions to large-scale thunderstorm activity across several parts of the country and the successive approach of western disturbances.
"Day temperatures are likely to remain normal to below normal over the next week. No significant heatwave conditions are expected," it said.
On the air quality front, the city's Air Quality Index stood at 123, placing it in the 'moderate' category.
According to Central Pollution Control Board data, 27 monitoring stations recorded 'moderate' air quality, 15 fell in the 'satisfactory' category, while one station, Burari Crossing, reported 'severe' levels.
According to the CPCB, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 to 100 “satisfactory”, 101 to 200 “moderate”, 201 to 300 “poor”, 301 to 400 “very poor” and 401 to 500 “severe”.