Delhi is likely to receive light to moderate rain on Sunday, with thunderstorms and lightning in some areas, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for the capital for the third consecutive day of showers.
The maximum temperature is expected to reach 33°C, with the minimum settling at 24.6°C.
“Overhead thunderstorm formations are happening over Delhi NCR and bands from west Uttar Pradesh are also moving in. Between 9am-3pm one to two spells of moderate to heavy showers will occur in most parts of Delhi, Noida Ghaziabad, and Faridabad,” Weatherman Navdeep Dahiya said in a post on X on Sunday.
The capital has been receiving moderate to heavy rainfall since September 4, with Delhi crossing its annual average rainfall on Friday despite nearly four months remaining in the year, even as the neighbouring Haryana-Punjab-Rajasthan region continues to grapple with a significant rainfall deficit.
According to IMD data, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab are facing rainfall deficits of 21%, 26% and 37%, respectively, while Delhi has recorded 10% excess rainfall since the start of the monsoon season. Delhi surpassed the IMD’s annual long-period average rainfall of 774.4 mm by 5:30 pm on Friday, with its total rainfall reaching 780 mm.
Safdarjung, the city’s representative weather station, recorded 29.8 mm of rain, according to the IMD’s 24-hour rainfall data recorded between 8:30 am on Saturday and 8:30 am on Sunday. Chhatarpur received the highest rainfall at 50 mm, followed by Palam and Lodhi Road at 35.6 mm and 30.8 mm, respectively. Other weather stations recorded rainfall as follows: Narayana (24.5 mm), Ridge (24.2 mm), Ayanagar (19 mm), Pusa (16 mm), Pragati Maidan (15.6 mm), Janakpuri (12.5 mm), Pitampura (10 mm), Mayur Vihar (9.5 mm), and Jafarpur (3.5 mm).
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi recorded an average AQI of 59 in the “satisfactory” category on Sunday.
The weather department has not forecast any rainfall in Delhi from Monday through Saturday, with predominantly dry conditions expected to prevail across the capital throughout the week.