Heavy rain lashes Delhi, yellow and orange alerts issued

New Delhi: The skies darkened and heavy rain lashed several parts of Delhi on Tuesday afternoon, taking many commuters and others by surprise.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued yellow and orange alerts for the national capital, forecasting moderate rainfall accompanied by light thunderstorms and lightning.

The weather department further said moderate thunderstorms with lightning, hail, and wind speeds ranging between 40–60 kmph are likely over parts of central, southwest, west, northwest and north Delhi.

The Capital woke up to a wet Tuesday morning with the minimum temperature recorded at 21 degrees Celsius, 1.3 notches below normal.

The weather office forecast light rain during the day due to the impact of a Western Disturbance affecting the region.

In the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Tuesday, the city's primary weather station, Safdarjung, recorded 12.6 mm of rainfall, while the Palam and Ridge stations received 11 mm and 11.7 mm, respectively, according to the IMD.

The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 35 degrees Celsius, the IMD said.

Delhi's air quality index (AQI) stood at 68 at 9 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. The AQI falls in the satisfactory category.

According to the CPCB, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 to 100 "satisfactory", 101 to 200 "moderate", 201 to 300 "poor", 301 to 400 "very poor" and 401 to 500 "severe".