City receives first spell of winter rains

Delhi received its first spell of winter rains on Saturday bringing down the maximum temperature three notches below normal.

Bad weather, meanwhile, delayed 70 trains while 16 had to be rescheduled and seven cancelled. However, flight operations at IGI Airport were not affected.

“The maximum temperature was recorded at 16 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal while the minimum settled at 13.5 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal,” a MeT official said.

The national Capital received 3.4 mm of rainfall till 8.30 am while only traces were recorded during the day.

“The humidity levels oscillated between 100 and 91 per cent,” the official added.

Weatherman has predicted a cloudy sky on Sunday with possibility of shallow and moderate fog in few areas. “The maximum and minimum temperatures will be around 17 and 12 degrees Celsius,” the MeT official said.

On Friday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 24.4 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal while the minimum settled at 11.5 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal. Earlier, the Indian Meteorological Department said light rains are likely over the weekend with temperature coming down to 10 degrees Celsius.

The rain was also expected to help dissipate polluting dust particles and improve the air quality in the city. “These weather systems are likely to clear by Sunday but clouding will persist. By Monday, icy cold northwesterly winds will once again start blowing over northern plains including Delhi-NCR. With this, we can then expect a steep drop in night temperatures as well. By early next week, winter chill will grip most of the northern plains. During this time, mercury is likely to settle around or below five degrees Celsius,” a Skymet report said.