Heavy rain brings relief from Delhi-NCR humidity as air quality remains poor

Heavy rain lashed several parts of the national capital in the early hours of Thursday, bringing much-needed relief from hot and humid weather conditions. The downpour provided respite from the prevailing humidity, while cloudy skies continued to cover several areas of the city.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), light rainfall is likely between 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., with temperatures expected to hover around 33 degrees Celsius. The probability of rainfall during this period stands at 20 per cent.

The chances of rain are expected to increase during the evening, with scattered thunderstorms likely between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Temperatures are expected to range between 31 and 32 degrees Celsius, while the probability of rainfall could rise to 35 per cent.

Meanwhile, the monsoon remains active across several parts of the country, with heavy rainfall reported in Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The IMD has issued colour-coded weather alerts in several districts, warning of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall and related risks.

In Uttar Pradesh, red alerts have been issued for extremely heavy rainfall in districts such as Banda, Prayagraj and Mirzapur, while several neighbouring districts have been placed under yellow alerts.

In Himachal Pradesh, persistent rain and adverse weather have disrupted normal life. According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, 166 roads, including National Highway-003, remain blocked. As many as 130 power transformers and 222 water supply schemes have also been affected. Mandi remains the worst-hit district in terms of road connectivity, with 84 roads blocked.

Meanwhile, New Delhi's air quality remained in the poor category. Anand Vihar recorded the highest AQI among the listed monitoring stations at 264, followed by Bawana at 249. Other areas, including North Campus, Rohini, Punjabi Bagh, Ashok Vihar, and RK Puram, recorded moderate to poor air quality.

At other monitoring stations, AQI readings included CRRI Mathura Road at 114, Burari Crossing at 96, Pusa at 89, NSIT Dwarka at 72, ITO at 110, DTU at 82, Dwarka Sector-8 at 140, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at 107, Narela at 96, Okhla Phase-2 at 106, Alipur at 109, IIT Delhi at 132 and JNU at 82.