Delhi residents woke up to unpleasant weather on Thursday as the city is set to witness another hot and humid day on July 16. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a partly cloudy sky and strong surface winds reaching 20-30 kmph during the day.
The maximum temperature is expected to remain between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 30.2 degrees Celsius. The weather office has warned of hot and humid conditions at isolated places across the national capital, even as monsoon activity remains subdued over the region.
The IMD has also indicated the possibility of thunderstorms over the next 24-48 hours, with light rain likely from Friday onwards.
AQI improves in Delhi
Air quality in the capital remained in the “moderate” category on Thursday morning. The average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 165 at 9 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). However, pollution levels varied across the city, with the Anand Vihar monitoring station recording an AQI of 350, placing it in the “very poor” category.
Rainfall to continue across most states
Across the country, the IMD has forecast widespread rainfall over eastern and northeastern India, with extremely heavy rainfall very likely over Odisha. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also expected at some places over Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and parts of West Bengal.
Heavy rainfall is likely over Assam and Meghalaya, Bihar, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph are likely at isolated places over parts of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, eastern Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha, while winds of 30-40 kmph are expected over Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana.
The weather office has also forecast strong surface winds at isolated places over Karnataka and Telangana. Meanwhile, heatwave conditions are likely to persist over isolated parts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal.
Apart from Delhi, hot and humid weather is expected over Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, coastal Karnataka and Telangana, signalling uncomfortable conditions despite active monsoon rains elsewhere in the country. The IMD has also warned fishermen against venturing into parts of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal due to squally winds reaching 45-55 kmph, gusting up to 65 kmph.
