The Capital experienced some respite from the intense heat on Monday when rain and strong winds lashed certain parts of the city. The weatherman said around 4 p.m., 14.6 mm of rainfall brought a fall in temperature to nearly five degrees Celsius.
“The temperature was 36 degrees Celsius, which fell to about 31 degrees Celsius,” said an official of the Meteorological Department.
The sudden rain caused water-logging in different parts of the city leading to traffic snarls near Pragati Maidan Gate No. 4, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences flyover near INA Market and near Safdarjung Hospital.
The strong gusts of wind also uprooted trees slowing down traffic on Lutyens’ Zone roads such as Ashoka Road, K.G. Marg roundabout and Mansingh Road. Motorists plying on Central Delhi’s Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg also faced traffic woes due to fallen trees.
The Indian Premier League cricket match being held at the Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium also added to the chaos on the roads. The maximum temperature on Monday was 38 degrees Celsius and the minimum was 26 degrees Celsius, which was one notch above normal.
On Sunday, the maximum temperature in Delhi settled at 39.7 degrees Celsius. The relief may be short lived as the weatherman has forecast another sharp rise in the temperature in the next few days.