New Delhi, Mar 6 (IANS): Those who have already tucked away their warm winter clothing and brought out the summer wear in anticipation of the warmer weather around Holi should have a rethink -- the weatherman has predicted the slightly cold spell after the rain in NCR-Delhi to continue for around 20 days more.

"The wet spell that drenched the region is due to the western disturbance. Four western disturbances are witnessed in March. Therefore, the rain is falling," Kuldeep Srivastava, head of regional meteorological centre at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told IANS.

According to Met Department, 20.4 mm rain was recorded at Safdarjung and 15.3 mm in Palam in the last 24 hours. It was 20.6 mm in the Lodhi Road area and 19.1 mm and 18.6 mm in Aya Nagar and Ridge area respectively.

"Another western disturbance will come on March 10, leading to rain on Holi in the evening." The cold weather during evening and morning hours will continue till March 24 or 25. There will be no significant rise in temperatures before that," he added.

The IMD forecast that thunderstorm accompanied by lightning, hail and gusty winds at isolated places over the National Capital Region and other surrounding areas like west Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab was likely.

The minimum temperature recorded by the IMD in Delhi on Friday was 14 degrees Celsius, while the maximum was 22 degrees.

The Centre's System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said that the overall air quality in Delhi was recorded under "satisfactory" category at 69 places, with PM10 at 89 and PM2.5 at 54.

"The overall Air Quality Index in Delhi is on the lower end of 'satisfactory' category on March 6 morning, as was forecast. Under the influence of the western disturbance, rain was recorded in many places in the region. Further, widespread rain is expected on Friday as well. The regional air quality has improved significantly owing to the aerosol washout process," said SAFAR.