Hailstorm leaves Delhites aghast

New Delhi: Heavy rains and hailstrom accompanied by strong winds lashed the city on Thursday and brought the mercury down by four to five notches.

The minimum temperature settled at 15 degrees Celsius, six notches above the season’s average and the maximum temperature was recorded at 19.1 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season’s average.

Delhi recorded 3.2 mm rainfall till 5.30 pm. Humidity level oscillated between 100 and 89 per cent.

Palam recorded 3.2 mm rainfall, Lodhi Road 3.8mm, Ridge 3.4mm, Ayanagar 4mm, Gurgaon 3mm, Jafarpur 9mm, Najafgarh 3mm and Sports Complex 2mm.

Hailstorms hit several parts of Delhi and its adjacent areas. Excited people took to social media to share pictures of roads covered with hail.

Airport officials said 14 domestic flights and four international ones were diverted to nearby cities between 6 pm and 7 pm. The weatherman has forecast shallow to moderate fog on Friday morning and mainly clear skies.

The maximum and minimum temperatures will hover around 19 and 10 degrees Celsius respectively. The minimum temperature on Wednesday was 12 degrees Celsius, while the maximum settled at 24 degrees Celsius.

Rain brings respite in air

The overall air quality of Delhi was ‘moderate’ on Thursday, a significant improvement due to western disturbances, scattered rain and high wind speed, authorities said.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the overall air quality index (AQI) of the city was at 171, which falls in the ‘moderate’ category, a significant drop from the AQI of 349 recorded on Wednesday, which falls in the ‘very poor’ category.