A day after monsoon arrival in the national Capital, moderate rain along with thundershowers will continue to prevail on Friday with the maximum temperature expected to settle at 32°C, India’s Meteorological Department’s (IMD) forecast said.
The maximum temperature on Thursday was 29.4°C degrees Celsius, seven degrees below normal for this time of the year.
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As per IMD’s weekly forecast, much of Delhi is expected to record moderate rainfall on Friday, with the maximum temperature expected to be around 32°C. The minimum temperature on Friday is expected to hover around 24°C.
IMD scientists said they expect rains to continue across northwest India, including Delhi, till July 6, with an ‘orange’ alert currently in place for Saturday, and a ‘yellow alert’ in place for the other days in that interim.
The Met department issues a yellow alert to warn the general public of a weather phenomenon in place, a category that is upgraded to an orange alert, if preventive action is required.
Delhi’s air quality was in the satisfactory category on Friday morning with the hourly air quality index (AQI) at 8 am reaching 66, as per the data from the Central Pollution Control Board. On Thursday, the average 24-hour AQI was 116, which was in the moderate category.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
On Thursday, the Union ministry of earth science’s air quality monitoring centre, System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar) said that the air quality is likely to stay in the moderate or upper end of the satisfactory category till Sunday on account of rain.
“For the next three days (Friday-Sunday), peak wind speed is likely to be ~ 20-25 km/h causing moderate dispersion and AQI is likely to be within ‘moderate’ or ‘upper end of satisfactory’ due to expected rain spells. Moderate temperature (~ 35 deg C) and mixing layer height (~ 1.0-1.5 km) maintains moderate ventilation by convection improving air quality,” stated the forecast.
