New Delhi, Jan 9: Residents of Delhi and adjoining areas of the National Capital Region (NCR) woke up to surprise rainfall early on Friday amid prevailing cold wave conditions, even as the region continued to reel under dense fog and biting cold.
Several parts of the capital and neighbouring cities witnessed light intermittent rain in the early hours, catching residents off guard as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had not forecast rainfall earlier for Delhi-NCR.
Following the unexpected downpour, the IMD issued a short-term nowcast warning, predicting light to moderate rainfall across Delhi and parts of Haryana and Rajasthan over the next two hours. The weather department said the rain could lead to a further dip in temperatures.
According to the IMD, light rainfall or drizzle is likely to occur at isolated places in Delhi, including Mundka, Paschim Vihar, Rajouri Garden, Buddha Jayanti Park, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Rajiv Chowk, Jaffarpur, Najafgarh, Dwarka, Delhi Cantt, Palam and the IGI Airport area. Parts of the NCR such as Bahadurgarh, Ghaziabad and Noida are also expected to receive light showers.
In its early morning bulletin issued at 6.30 am, the Regional Meteorological Centre in Delhi said several central, eastern and southern localities, including ITO, India Gate, Akshardham and Preet Vihar, could witness light rainfall.
The IMD said cold wave conditions continue to prevail in the region, and the combination of rain, dense fog and low temperatures is likely to intensify the chill in the coming hours.
