Heavy rain, gusty winds bring relief to Delhi after days of 45°C heat

After days of sweltering heatwave conditions, Delhiites got a respite on Thursday evening as heavy rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds swept parts of the national capital, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a red alert for the next few hours. The IMD warned of moderate to severe thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, duststorms and isolated hailstorms at many places across the city, with wind speeds likely to reach 80 kilometres per hour. The weather office said the current spell of rain and thunderstorm activity is expected to continue till May 31.

The change in weather comes after several days of intense heat during which temperatures crossed the 45 degrees Celsius mark at various stations in Delhi. According to IMD data, maximum temperatures across the city on Thursday fell by around 3 to 5 degrees Celsius compared to the previous day. Mahesh Palawat, Skymet Weather, said the intensity of the storms is likely to increase on Friday and the spell is expected to continue till May 30, after which the weather system is likely to shift towards Gujarat between May 30 and 31.