IMD issues yellow alert, forecasts moderate rain today

The India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for Delhi on Monday, forecasting light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, along with gusty winds reaching speeds of 30-40 kmph, with some gusts up to 50 Kmph.

The rain, it said, is due to an intense Western Disturbance that is likely to cause heavy to very heavy rainfall and hailstorms over Northwest India till October 8. Following the wet spell, the IMD has said that the minimum temperatures are likely to fall by 4-5 degrees Celsius.

The IMD forecast for Delhi on October 6 reads, “A few spells of light to moderate rain very likely at many places accompanied with thunderstorms/lightning and wind speed reaching to 30 – 40 kmph gusting to 50 kmph. The maximum and minimum temperatures over Delhi are likely to be in the range of 28 to 30 degrees Celsius and 22 to 24 degrees Celsius respectively.” 

For October 7, the IMD predicts that light rain with wind will continue, with minimum temperatures expected to fall further, settling between 22 and 20 degrees Celsius. The sky is likely to turn clear on October 8. The high wind speeds are likely to keep pollution at bay.

It was a wet start to October, with rains lashing the Capital on October 2, bringing relief from the above-average temperatures that had been prevalent in the last week of September, after the Monsoon officially made its withdrawal from the city on September 24. 

The months of May, June, July, August, and September have recorded above-average rainfall this year. So far, October, which is a relatively dry month, has had two rainy days.