Overnight rain lashes Delhi, AQI drops to 133 as winter sets in

Overnight rain lashes Delhi; AQI, mercury dip as winter knocks on National Capital's door

New Delhi, October 30

Late-night visuals from key locations, including the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station and the Jamia Millia Islamia area, showed rain-slicked streets and steady downpours as dark clouds took over the night sky.

The sudden spell of showers has triggered a noticeable drop in temperatures, setting the stage for the winter chill to settle over Delhi-NCR.

Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI), which was above 200 (Poor category) on Wednesday and Thursday, also came down to 133 (Moderate) as of 4 am on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), on October 29, has issued a yellow alert for Delhi and adjoining National Capital Region (NCR) districts, forecasting spells of rain and thunderstorms over the next 24 to 48 hours, followed by clear weather heading into early November.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre in New Delhi, widespread weather activity is expected across the capital, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, and Faridabad. The forecast predicts generally cloudy skies with one or two spells of light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning across many areas, with isolated pockets likely to experience heavy rain during the night. The wet spell is expected to spill into October 30, bringing very light to light rain across multiple locations and moderate showers during the morning to forenoon hours.

The IMD indicates that the skies will turn partly cloudy by October 31, with no weather warnings in place. By November 1 and November 2, the region is projected to transition to mainly clear skies and stable conditions, marked by standard green codes indicating fair weather across all districts.

Meanwhile, central and eastern states face intense precipitation driven by the remnant cyclonic circulation. Isolated extremely heavy rainfall is forecast over north Bihar (October 30) and parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

Widespread heavy to very heavy downpours will also lash Jharkhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, and East Uttar Pradesh. In response, a low-to-moderate flash flood risk has been flagged till October 30 across vulnerable watersheds in Chhattisgarh (including Korba, Surguja, and Balrampur), Odisha (Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Sambalpur), Jharkhand (Palamu, Simdega), Bihar (East and West Champaran, Rohtas, Bhojpur), and East Uttar Pradesh (Sonbhadra, Ghazipur, Ballia).

As per the IMD, southern peninsular states are set for an escalation in weather activity from early November as the Bay of Bengal system approaches. While scattered showers will persist through the end of October, fairly widespread to widespread rainfall is expected over Coastal Karnataka, Kerala, South Interior Karnataka, Telangana, and Coastal Andhra Pradesh between November 2 and November 4.

Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam are on alert for isolated very heavy downpours on November 2-3, alongside strong gusty winds reaching up to 60 kmph and thundersqualls over Telangana.

— ANI