Delhi weather likely to improve from today, IMD predicts cloudy sky, light rain

Delhi’s weather is likely to improve from Thursday with heatwave conditions in certain areas, said India Meteorological Department. However, it predicted that there is a chance of a thunderstorm with very light rain or drizzle.

Shifting from a “red alert” for heatwave on Wednesday, the IMD sounded an orange alert for Thursday.

"Partly cloudy sky. Heatwave conditions at a few places. The possibility of thunderstorm/dust storm with very light rain/drizzle accompanied with gusty winds (speed 25-35 kmph),” stated the regional meteorological centre, New Delhi.

The maximum temperature for Thursday is expected to rise to 45 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature will be at 30 degrees Celsius. "With easterly winds, the heat index was over 50 degrees even though the recorded temperature was much lower. But now as westerly winds approach the region, the humidity has gone down and the heat index has also reduced. This will lower the "feels-like" temperature and bring relief to residents," Mahesh Palawat, Vice President at Skymet Weather told NDTV.

According to the weather body, cloudy weather is expected to persist until June 1. Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, IMD, told ANI, “For Thursday, we have issued an orange alert, with a predicted 2-3 degrees reduction in temperature. On May 31st and June 1st, due to western disturbances, there is a possibility of thunderstorms and lightning in Delhi-NCR and the entire Northwest region... By June 1st, there will be a 3-4 degrees reduction in temperature.”

The IMD predicted warm night conditions are very likely to prevail over Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on May 30.

The maximum temperatures across different locations in Delhi as of 8.30 am on May 30:

Safdarjung - 46.8°C

Palam - 47.0°C

Lodhi Road - 46.2°C

Ridge - 47.3°C

Aya nagar - 46.8°C

Meanwhile, Delhi on Wednesday recorded India's highest-ever temperature when the mercury reached 52.9 degrees Celsius at the city's Mungeshpur weather station. The IMD officials later said the record-breaking temperature could be either due to an "error in the sensor or the local factor (s)".

Noida authority changes timing

The Noida Authority said the first shift of hundreds of its employees in departments engaged in outdoor work will now begin at 6 am.

The authority has also suggested changes in work timings for workers and labourers engaged in construction at private sites during the peak summer season. The working hours for employees engaged in development and maintenance work of civil, water, garden and electricity departments will be from 6 am to 10 am, and 4 pm to 8 pm, the Noida Authority said in a statement.