IMD predicts light rain, thunderstorms in Delhi for 2 days; temperature to hover around 33-35°C

NEW DELHI: The city is likely to see rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and strong surface winds on Monday and Tuesday.
Though India Meteorological Department has issued a 'yellow' (be aware) alert for Monday, there is no colour-coded warning Tuesday onwards. However, the mercury is likely to stay below normal over the next seven days.

The maximum temperature on Sunday was recorded at 36 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, at Safdarjung, which is the city's base station. It was 35 degrees Celsius the previous day. Though no rainfall was seen at Safdarjung from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on Sunday, adjoining districts saw very light showers. In Delhi, only Mayur Vihar logged 0.5 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. Gurgaon received 6.5 mm, and Noida, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad recorded 0.5 mm of rainfall during the same duration.
The minimum temperature stood at 24.2 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal, and it was two degrees higher than Saturday's minimum. "The maximum and minimum temperatures are in the range of 34 to 36 degrees Celsius and 23 to 24 degrees Celsius, respectively. The minimum is below normal by 1-2 degrees Celsius, and maximum temperatures are markedly below the normal by 3 to 6 degrees Celsius over Delhi. Southeasterly surface wind prevailed at speeds up to 20 kmph over Delhi," a Met official said.
The Met department has predicted that the day temperature is likely to stay around 33-35 degrees Celsius on Monday as light rain and thunderstorms are expected. There are chances of very light to light rain on Tuesday, and very light rain on Wednesday and Thursday. However, the mercury is likely to show a marginal rise from May 8 and may reach between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius.
Three days after stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan was lifted from NCR, the city's air quality again deteriorated to the poor category on Sunday. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was 232 compared to 180 a day earlier. The measures under stage I are preventive and focus on the stringent enforcement of existing guidelines.
The air quality is expected to improve from Monday onwards. "The air quality is likely to remain in the moderate category from Monday to Wednesday," said the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, which is the forecasting body under the union ministry of earth sciences.