Delhi residents should prepare for another round of severe weather, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) that upgraded its alert to orange on Saturday evening, warning of moderate thunderstorms with winds reaching 40-50 kmph after the Capital experienced an unforeseen massive storm on Friday.
The orange alert for Delhi — signifying that agencies must act to prevent disaster — applies for Sunday and is part of wider warnings across northwest and central India, where thundersqualls with speeds of 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph are expected to strike multiple states through May 7.
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Saturday’s minimum temperature in the capital was 22.2°C, 2.5 degrees below normal but 3.7°C higher than Friday. The maximum reached 35°C, 4.3 degrees below normal but significantly up from Friday’s 29.1°C.
“Similar weather activities with cloudy skies and light to moderate rain may persist for the next three to four days, especially in the early morning and late-night hours,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet Weather. “This is characteristic of pre-monsoon activities.”
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The IMD has issued specific thundersquall warnings – the most severe category – for several regions, including West Madhya Pradesh on May 5-6; Uttarakhand until May 6, Punjab, Haryana, and West Uttar Pradesh on May 4 and 5, and east Uttar Pradesh on May 5.
These areas face winds reaching 50-60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph, which can cause significant damage.
The predictions were issued a day after a violent caught the IMD unawares. The storm led to the deaths of five people, uprooting hundreds of trees, disrupting flight schedules and deluging the city with the second-heaviest May day showers in 124 years.
Also Read: Turbulent weather to continue across India till May 6, says IMD
The agency on Thursday issued a yellow alert, forecasting thunderstorms with drizzle and gusty winds of up to 50 km/hour on Friday. But, at 5am, as the storm gathered pace and began to course through the city, it upgraded the warning to a red alert, warning of a “severe” thunderstorm and winds of 70-80km/hour, said IMD.
Hailstorm warnings are also in effect for Himachal Pradesh on May 4, Uttarakhand until May 6, East Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, and in several regions including Sikkim, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh till May 7.
“There is large-scale thunderstorm activity over northwest India,” said M Mohapatra, director general of IMD. “A western disturbance, moisture incursion from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, combined with extensive heating over the past week, triggered such intense thunderstorm activity.”
On Friday, Telangana experienced squally winds of 70-100 kmph, whilst winds of 40-70 kmph hit Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and several other states.
In Delhi, Saturday brought 0.8mm of rain at Safdarjung by 8:30am, with Ridge recording 4.4mm and Delhi University 2mm during the same period. Light rain continued through Saturday, prompting the evening upgrade to an orange alert. In its bulletin, the agency issued an orange alert for Sunday as well.
The air quality in Delhi deteriorated slightly to an AQI of 180 (moderate) at 4pm Saturday but is forecast to remain in the moderate category until at least Tuesday.
For Delhi residents, the IMD forecast light rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Sunday. The next week would start with similar conditions but there were no specific alerts for Monday or Tuesday, and by Thursday, rains are expected to subside.
Maximum temperatures in Delhi will hover around 34-36°C on Sunday, dip to 30-32°C for the next two days, then rise again.
The weather systems responsible include a western disturbance over north Pakistan and multiple upper air cyclonic circulations across northwest Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh and southeast Rajasthan.
Another western disturbance will impact northwest India from May 4.
While these storms bring relief from extreme May heat, the IMD warns they may cause widespread damage. Orange alerts indicate that disaster management agencies should activate response protocols, while residents in affected areas should take precautions against strong winds, hail, and lightning.