Gurgaon: Rain and thunderstorms swept across several parts of the city on Thursday evening, giving residents major relief from the weeklong heatwave and days of scorching heat and dry weather.In a nowcast issued at 4.19pm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had warned of light to moderate thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and wind speeds of 30-60 kmph over Gurugram, Sohna, Tauru and adjoining areas. Districts including Nuh, Palwal, Rewari, Mahendragarh, Bhiwani, Hisar and Fatehabad were also covered under the warning.IMD has now placed Gurgaon under orange alert for May 29 and May 30, warning residents to remain prepared for thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds and isolated heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours. Hindon and Gurgaon reported 20mm and 3.5mm rainfall till 7.15 pm, while hail was observed in Rewari.The weather shift came hours after Gurgaon recorded a sharp rise in minimum temperature, which climbed from 23 degrees Celsius on May 27 to 26.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning, indicating intense heat buildup and atmospheric instability.By evening, 5.30pm, temperatures dropped significantly. According to IMD, Gurgaon’s maximum temperature also fell by around 4 degrees Celsius in 24 hours. The Gurgaon KVK station recorded a maximum of 38.8 degrees Celsius, while the Gurgaon AWS station recorded 38.1 degrees Celsius, down by 4-4.5 degrees Celsius from Wednesday.Rain that started around 6.30pm and lasted for an hour led to a further decrease in temperature as Mahendragarh recorded the steepest fall of 20 degrees Celsius, followed by Charkhi Dadri at 15 degrees Celsius. Gurgaon witnessed a significant 12-degree drop, while Ayanagar and Mehrauli recorded declines of 11 and 10 degrees Celsius, respectively. Officials said most other stations across Delhi also recorded a 3-5 degree Celsius drop, bringing major relief from the prevailing heatwave conditions.Independent weather forecaster Navdeep Dahiya had earlier warned that a “severe storm setup” had developed over northwest India due to the interaction of a western disturbance, cyclonic circulation, moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal and southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea.He said thunderstorm activity could intensify further on Friday and Saturday, with wind gusts potentially reaching 80-120 kmph in isolated areas along with hailstorm and microburst activity.Earlier this week, Haryana recorded an almost complete rainfall deficit, with the state receiving 99% below-normal rainfall between May 22 and May 28. Gurgaon had recorded zero rainfall against a normal weekly average of 6.1 mm during the same period.
