Heavy rainfall lashes Delhi-NCR, temperature dips, AQI worsens

New Delhi: Heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm lashed parts of Delhi-NCR on Monday which led to a decline in temperature and further deteriorated the air quality. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), thunderstorms with moderate intensity rain with heavy intensity rain over isolated places would continue to occur over and adjoining areas of the […]

New Delhi: Heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm lashed parts of Delhi-NCR on Monday which led to a decline in temperature and further deteriorated the air quality.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), thunderstorms with moderate intensity rain with heavy intensity rain over isolated places would continue to occur over and adjoining areas of the national capital during the next two hours.

“Thunderstorm with moderate intensity rain with heavy intensity rain over isolated places would continue to occur over and adjoining areas of entire Delhi, Gurugram, Aurangabad, Palwal, Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Panipat, Sohana (Haryana) during next two hours (issued at 4 a.m.),” the IMD tweeted.

The day is supposed to be generally cloudy with light spells of rain.

The maximum temperature stands at 29 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 20 degrees Celsius, whereas the relative humidity has been pegged at 96 degrees Celsius.

Despite the rain, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has slipped to the ‘very poor’ category with PM 2.5 as the lead pollutant, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) reported.

“Favorable meteorological conditions lead to intrusion of stubble burning related air mass. With 1572 effective fire counts as per SAFAR harmonized methodology which includes data of two ISRO satellites, the stubble burning contribution in Delhi’s air has suddenly increased to 14 per cent,” SAFAR said.

It had also rained in the national capital and its adjoining area on Sunday morning as well.