Delhi gets partial relief from scorching heat; IMD issues orange alert for thunderstorm, gusty winds

New Delhi: After four consecutive days of heatwave conditions in parts of the national capital, Delhi on Friday witnessed a slight dip in temperatures.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert, forecasting hot and humid conditions along with a high likelihood of thunderstorm activity, lightning and gusty winds later in the evening.

The maximum temperature at Safdarjung — the city's official observatory — fell to 41.2 degrees Celsius, still 1.3 degrees Celsius above normal, but notably lower than Thursday's 43.9 degrees Celsius.

The other weather stations across the city also recorded significant drops. Ridge saw the sharpest fall with a 4.9 degrees Celsius decrease in daytime temperature, while Ayanagar, Lodhi Road and Palam reported dips of 3.6 degrees Celsius, 3.7 degrees Celsius and 3.3 degrees Celsius respectively.

However, the minimum temperatures continued to rise. Safdarjung recorded a low of 31.0 degrees Celsius on Friday, compared to 30.7 degrees Celsius on Thursday and 27.2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday — around 3 degrees Celsius above normal.

Despite the drop in peak temperature, discomfort levels remained high with the humidity ranging between 51 per cent and 69 per cent, and the day’s heat index (real-feel) peaking at 51.5 degrees Celsius at 2:30 pm.

The updated forecast predicts partly cloudy skies, with very light to light rainfall, thunderstorm activity and gusty winds reaching 40–50 kmph, possibly touching 60 kmph during thunderstorm spells tonight.

These conditions are likely to persist over the weekend, with rainfall expected to increase between June 16 and 18.

The IMD expects the maximum temperatures to hover between 39–41 degrees Celsius on Saturday, with further drops in both maximum and minimum readings over the next few days.

Notably, no heatwave conditions are expected from June 14 onwards.

Meanwhile, Delhi's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded in the "moderate" category at 187, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".