The capital received 1.2 mm of rain in the wee hours and cool winds blowing at a speed of 25 kmph brought a welcome respite from the scorching heat.
NEW DELHI: It was an unusually pleasant day in the middle of May for Delhiites on Friday as rains lashed the national capital for the fourth time in five days, bringing down the temperature considerably.
The capital received 1.2 mm of rain in the wee hours and cool winds blowing at a speed of 25 kmph brought a welcome respite from the scorching heat.
The showers brought down the temperature in the morning to 23.6 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal and at noon the temperature stood at a pleasant 34.2 degrees Celsius.
However, the Met office said the respite was short-lived as the rains were caused by a purely local weather phenomenon.
"The rains were caused by a purely local development. It was a local upper air circulation that resulted in the rains. But Delhi should hope for only a brief respite from the heat as the weather development will not last long," said Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Director R D Singh told PTI.
"Temperatures will climb again by tomorrow. The respite is not going to be for long," he said.
Singh said Delhi has in the month of May received 22.8 mm of rain already, compared to the normal levels of around 17 mm that the city is expected to get at this time of the year.
The Met Office predicts a hotter day to follow with the mercury hovering around 42 degrees Celsius, as compared to Thursday's maximum of 36 degrees.
Delhi registered a record 47.2 degrees Celsius on May 19 in 1944, Met officials say. On the same day in the year 2002, the mercury rose to 46 degrees, the highest in the last five years for the month of May.
Maximum temperatures in capital touched the season's highest of 44.5 degree Celsius on May seven.
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