Gusty winds don’t blow away heat, for that wait till Friday

New Delhi: The city saw a sweltering noon, followed by a squall when winds gusted up to 120 kmph and some areas got a drizzle of rain. The heat, however, went nowhere.By Friday though, the temperature is expected to dip significantly after a western disturbance hits Delhi, IMD has said.The strong winds on Tuesday impacted flights. At least two were diverted by late evening. FlightRadar24, a live-tracking website, said over 400 flights were delayed throughout the day.Humidity and clear skies towards the morning hours pushed Delhi’s ‘feel-like’ temperature to a scorching 45.5°C by 11 am on Tuesday. The city’s base station, Safdarjung, recorded a maximum of 43.5 degrees Celsius, 3.5 notches above normal, against 42.2 degrees Celsius a day earlier.At 44.7 degrees Celsius, the Ridge was the hottest, followed by Lodhi Road at 44 degrees Celsius.“Palam reported sustainable surface winds from 3.30 pm onwards. Between 6.50 pm to 6.52 pm, the wind gusted at 120 kmph. Pusa recorded 80 kmph, while Safdarjung recorded 64 kmph,” an IMD official said.On Sunday, the winds gusted up to 101 kmph in the Palam area. “There was an active cyclonic circulation over Rajasthan with a trough extending towards Delhi, hence the region has seen such activity,” said Mahesh Palawat of Skymet.IMD said the maximum temperature is likely to rise more on Wednesday, but a fresh western disturbance will bring respite soon. It is likely “to affect the western Himalayan region from June 11,” it said. A rise in the maximum temperature by about 1 degree may be seen on June 10, but on June 12, a fall by 7-8 degrees Celsius is expected, followed by a rise of 2-3 degrees.The rise in the minimum temperature would also be by 1 degree Celsius on June 10. No large change is expected on June 11 but the minimum could dip by 4-5 degrees Celsius on June 12, and then rise by 1-2 degrees, IMD added.The maximum on Wednesday may be around 43-45 degrees Celsius. An orange alert for rain and thunderstorm has been issued for Thursday when the maximum is likely to hover around 41-43 degrees Celsius.The air quality index was 164 against 151 a day earlier. Both are in the moderate range.