Delhi gets first rain of the year, air quality improves

A long spell of dry winter weather finally ended on Friday as Delhi recorded its first rain of the year, with several parts of the city receiving showers in the morning.

Rain accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds brought brief relief from high pollution levels in the city.

The change in weather was brought about by this year's first intense western disturbance, the weather office said. By 8:30 am, Safdarjung recorded 1.3 mm of rainfall, while Palam also logged 1.3 mm. Lodi Road received 1.6 mm, Ridge 1.8 mm, Ayanagar 1.7 mm, Janakpuri 1.5 mm, and Mayur Vihar 1.0 mm, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

According to the IMD forecast for the day, Delhi would see one or two spells of rain during the early to forenoon hours and another spell of very light to light rain in the afternoon and evening. The weather alert has been downgraded from orange to yellow.

The showers led to a significant shift in air quality, as Delhi's AQI stood at 293 in the "poor" category, according to the CPCB's Sameer app, an improvement from 313 recorded at 4 pm on Thursday. Of the monitoring stations, 23 were in the "very poor" category, 15 in "poor," and one station recorded "moderate" air quality.

Temperatures varied across the capital. Safdarjung recorded a minimum temperature of 13.7 degrees Celsius, up by 7 degrees from the previous day, while Palam logged 13 degrees Celsius, a rise of 5 degrees. Lodi Road recorded 14.1 degrees Celsius, Ridge reported 13.7 degrees, and Ayanagar 14.2 degrees, all showing a significant rise in minimum temperature from the previous day.

The maximum temperature, however, is expected to be around 18 degrees Celsius, much lower than Thursday's 27.1 degrees. The ongoing impact of the western disturbance over northwest India would continue on Friday in the form of rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds, IMD said.

Delhi, Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and north Rajasthan could be affected for a few hours, it added. Due to the rainfall, visibility over highways and other roads may drop, the met department said, advising necessary precautions while driving. Visibility at Palam airport dropped to 1,000 m from 2,500 m at 6:30 am and is likely to reduce further to 800 m.

Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Thursday revoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR, citing improvement in overall air quality. However, measures under Stages I and II will remain in force.