Delhi: Rain brings relief from intense heatwave even as city reels under severe water crisis

New Delhi, Jun 21 (PTI) Light rain was seen in parts of the national capital on Friday, which brought relief from the intense heatwave in the city, the weather office said.

Thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds with speeds of 30 to 50 kmph would be seen in Delhi and adjoining areas of the National Capital Region in the next two hours, according to the weather bulletin at 3 pm.

The city's minimum temperature settled at 28.4 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the season, the Met ofice said.

The India Meteorological Department has predicted some relief from the searing heatwave in Delhi over the weekend as the sky is likely to remain partly cloudy on Saturday and Sunday.

The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 40 degrees Celsius on Friday. Delhi's relative humidity was 70 per cent at 8.30 am. The IMD on Thursday said that heatwave conditions have abated from Delhi under the influence of western disturbance and lower-level easterlies from Bay of Bengal.

Delhi has been reeling under a intense heatwave and a severe water crisis.

According to a senior police official, bodies of more than 50 people were recovered from in and around Delhi in the last five days. Police, however, have not confirmed if they died of heat-related causes.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital was recorded in the "moderate" category with a reading of 173 at 1 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe". PTI