Thundershowers lash Delhi; cold spell to continue for 20 days, says IMD

Sudden showers lashed the national capital on Friday evening leading to traffic snarls and bringing the mercury down by a couple of notches. For all those Delhiites who thought winter was on its way out, the weather department has predicted a cold spell that may continue for the next 20 days, according to news agency IANS.

"The wet spell that hit the region is due to a western disturbance. Four western disturbances are witnessed in March. Therefore, it is raining," Kuldeep Srivastava, head of regional meteorological centre at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

According to the Met Department, 20.4 mm of rain was recorded at Safdarjung and 15.3 mm in Palam in the last 24 hours. It was 20.6 mm in the Lodhi Road area and 19.1 mm and 18.6 mm in Aya Nagar and Ridge area respectively.

Flight schedules went awry at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport due to the sudden change in weather. National carrier Air India in a statement requested passengers to arrive at the airport well in advance for departures.

"Due to heavy downpour in Delhi, flight departures and arrivals are likely to be affected. There is also a traffic jam enroute to the airport. Passengers are requested to keep sufficient time in hand to reach the airport," the statement from Air India said.

The IMD forecast that more thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and gusty winds at isolated places over the National Capital Region and other surrounding areas like west Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab were likely.

The minimum temperature recorded by the IMD in Delhi on Friday was 14 degrees Celsius, while the maximum was 22 degrees.

The Centre's System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said that the overall air quality in Delhi was recorded as "satisfactory" at 69 places, with PM10 at 89 and PM2.5 at 54.

(Inputs and image from hindustantimes.com)