The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Delhi on Friday, warning of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds reaching speeds up to 70 kilometres per hour.
The weather department had earlier issued a yellow alert but upgraded it to orange. “Residents should be alert and prepared for potentially disruptive weather,” said the IMD.
An orange alert is the second-highest warning level and means the weather could cause damage or disruption.
No warning was in place for Thursday morning, but light to moderate rain was still expected. “There are chances of some very light to light rain now. On Thursday, similar rain activity is expected, with the intensity even higher on Friday,” an IMD official said.
While Delhi is under an orange alert, no such warning has been issued for nearby Gurgaon and Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida may see light rain and thunderstorms on Friday but have no colour-coded alert, as per the IMD forecast.
So far this month, Delhi has recorded 186.4 mm of rainfall — the highest ever for May. The previous record was 165 mm in May 2008. The average rainfall for May is only 30.7 mm.
On Monday, parts of the city saw light rain, and the IMD expects more wet weather in the coming days. Heavy rain and a thunderstorm on Sunday caused flight delays, waterlogging, power cuts, and uprooted trees, raising concerns over the city’s preparedness for the monsoon.
Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon is progressing faster than its usual pace this year, according to the weather department. While it typically arrives in Delhi around June 27, the IMD has not yet announced an expected date for its onset in the capital.
“We are closely monitoring the progress,” said an IMD official, adding that the department is yet to determine when the monsoon will reach Delhi.
The monsoon reached Kerala on May 24, a full week ahead of its normal date of June 1. It was also declared over Mumbai on May 26, well before the usual onset date of June 11.
This month alone, five major storms have hit Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), resulting in at least 12 deaths due to house collapses, electrocution, and falling trees.