New Delhi, Mar 12 (IANS): The national capital woke up to a significant change in weather on Friday morning with rumbling thunder and dark clouds overshadowing most parts of the city and its satellite towns.
Delhi and surrounding areas are likely to receive thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain in the next couple of hours. Showers are also expected over parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, predicted Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD said that isolated rain/thunderstorm/lightning/gusty winds with precipitation are very likely over parts of Delhi and adjoining areas over the next few hours.
"Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over isolated places of entire Delhi and over and adjoining areas of Kaithal, Meham, Rohtak, Hansi, Hissar, Siwani, Tosham, Jhajjar, Tizara, Nuh, Hodal, Bawal, Rewari, Bhiwadi, Kosli, Farukhnagar, Sohna, Palwal, Aurangabad, Manesar, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ballabgarh, (Haryana), Kotputli, Khairthal, Alwar, Bharatpur, Nagar, (Rajasthan), Deeg, Noida, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Jattari, Khair, Nandgaon, Barsana (Uttar Pradesh) during next 2 hours," the IMD stated.
According to the met department, satellite images showed convective clouds over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, North Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana Chandigarh.
However, even though the weather change brought a little respite from warmer mornings over the past few days, the air quality index (AQI) of the national capital plummeted into the 'poor' category on Friday.
SAFAR recorded the average AQI at 280. The situation may continue for the next two days, it added.
"The overall Delhi air quality is in the 'poor' category. Surface winds are calm. Thunderstorms with gusty winds and local dust lifting are likely at isolated places today and tomorrow. An increase in wind speed and ventilation is expected on March 12. AQI is likely to stay in the poor to 'moderate' category for the next two days. Moderate AQI is forecasted for March 14," the officials of the earth and science ministry said.