India, July 17 -- Delhi continued to experience sultry weather on Thursday, with residents waking up to hot and humid conditions despite the ongoing monsoon season. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a partly cloudy sky and strong surface winds of 20-30 kmph during the day, while indicating that light rainfall and thunderstorms are likely to return from Friday. The maximum temperature is expected to settle between 37 degrees Celsius and 39 degrees Celsius, making for another uncomfortable day across the national capital. The minimum temperature was recorded at 30.2 degrees Celsius, remaining above normal and contributing to high humidity levels.
According to the IMD, isolated parts of Delhi are likely to witness hot and humid conditions through the day as monsoon activity over the region remains weak. However, weather conditions are expected to improve over the next 24 to 48 hours, with the possibility of thunderstorms accompanied by light rain from Friday onwards. Air quality in the city remained in the "moderate" category on Thursday morning. Data from the CPCB showed the city's average AQI at 165 at 9 am. However, pollution levels varied significantly across different locations. Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 350, placing it in the "very poor" category, while several other monitoring stations continued to report air quality in the moderate range. The IMD said Delhi is among several north Indian regions expected to witness hot and humid weather, even as many other parts of the country receive widespread monsoon rainfall. While eastern, northeastern and central states are likely to experience heavy to extremely heavy rain, the national capital is expected to remain largely dry for another day before rainfall activity picks up.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.