New Delhi: Severe thunderstorms and rain on Friday morning brought much-needed relief to the people in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), including Noida, from the persistent heatwave. At 5:19 a.m., the IMD, in a post on X, said severe thunder lightning, squally winds 70-80 kmph, is likely over Delhi during the next two hours. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and gusty winds over the next three days, issuing a yellow alert for the national capital. According to the IMD’s weekly forecast, thunderstorms with rain are expected on Friday and Saturday, which may lead to a slight dip in temperatures.
Earlier, the IMD predicted that moderate to intense rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching 40–90 km/hr, is likely to continue over the next two hours in several areas, including Delhi and the NCR. Affected regions also included parts of Haryana (Yamunanagar, Karnal, Safidon, Panipat, Sohana, Palwal, Nuh, Aurangabad, Hodal), Uttar Pradesh (Gangoh, Shamli, Kandhla, Nandgaon, Barsana, Raya, Hathras, Mathura, Sadabad, Agra, Jajau), and Rajasthan (Bhiwari, Deeg, Bharatpur).
A fresh and active Western disturbance is likely to impact northwest India from May 2. Under its influence, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will experience light to moderate rainfall coupled with heavy winds and lightning. The IMD earlier said a dust storm accompanied with gusty winds is also very likely at isolated places over Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan. The IMD also predicted rainfall and snowfall in parts of Himachal Pradesh.