Rain lashes Delhi, 'orange' warning issued

An 'orange' warning was issued in Delhi after rain lashed several parts of the national capital and adjoining areas on Friday, throwing traffic out of gear in many places.

The weather office has forecast more showers during the day.

The rain affected traffic in many areas of south, central and north Delhi.

The weather office said the rain started in Delhi-NCR around 2:30 am.

According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) data till 11:30 am, the observatory at Safdarjung -- the national capital's primary weather station -- recorded 9.1 mm rainfall.

The observatory at Palam recorded 8.4 mm rainfall, Lodhi Road (10.8 mm), Ridge (9 mm), Delhi University (11 mm), and Pusa (9.5 mm).

Met officials said an active western disturbance and its interaction with easterly winds were causing light to moderate rainfall and thunderstorms over northwest and central India, including the NCR areas of Delhi.

The Met office -- which has forecast light to moderate rain for the rest of the day -- denotes 'orange' warning as "be prepared".

The national capital recorded a minimum temperature of 11 degrees Celsius, 2.8 notches above normal.

The air quality at 9 am was recorded in the 'very poor' category, with a reading of 372, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.

The 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 345 at 4 pm on Thursday.

AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.