New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued a weather alert for Delhi-NCR, forecasting thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds at isolated places until June 25, even as the national Capital continued to grapple with poor air quality.

The weather warning extends beyond Delhi and covers several states and Union Territories, including Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gangetic West Bengal, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The IMD has also forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall over Assam, Meghalaya, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim during the next two days. Heavy rainfall is likely over Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Coastal Karnataka, Madhya Maharashtra, Goa, Odisha, Telangana, Kerala, and several northeastern states on Tuesday.

In Delhi, temperatures remained relatively moderate for this time of the year. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 38.4 degrees Celsius on Monday, marginally below the seasonal average. According to the IMD, the maximum temperature at Safdarjung, the city’s base weather station, was 0.5 degrees lower than the previous day.

For Tuesday, the weather department has predicted partly cloudy skies, with the minimum and maximum temperatures expected to hover around 25 degrees Celsius and 40 degrees Celsius, respectively.

June is typically among the hottest months in Delhi, with temperatures frequently crossing the 40-degree mark. Intense sunshine and hot, dry winds often make outdoor conditions challenging for residents. However, the forecast of thunderstorms and gusty winds is expected to provide some respite from the prevailing heat.

Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon has regained momentum over Maharashtra after nearly a two-week lull. The IMD said the monsoon is likely to cover the entire state within the next few days, bringing much-needed relief from the sweltering conditions. Mumbai witnessed widespread showers since morning, with rainfall reported from areas including Matunga, Senapati Bapat Road, and several other localities.

Despite the changing weather pattern, Delhi’s air quality remained in the “poor” category. Anand Vihar recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 246, while several other monitoring stations reported moderate to poor levels, including IIT Delhi (166), RK Puram (165), Rohini (163), Pusa (173), Patparganj (154), Sonia Vihar (157), and Wazirpur (185).

–IANS

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