IMD issues yellow alert as rain brings winter chill to Delhi, Shimla gets season’s first snowfall

Delhi woke up to a chilly Friday morning after rainfall in several parts of the city brought down temperatures and provided brief relief from prevailing dry conditions

The India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert for Delhi, warning of thunderstorms accompanied by rain due to an active western disturbance affecting the region

According to the IMD, Delhi recorded a temperature of 16.4 degrees Celsius at 7 am, following a spell of rain earlier in the day, with another round of light rain expected later in the afternoon or evening

The change in weather came a day after Delhi registered its warmest January day in seven years, with the maximum temperature touching 27.1 degrees Celsius on Thursday

Air quality in the national capital showed marginal improvement but remained in the ‘poor’ category, with the Air Quality Index recorded at 297 at 7 am, as per CPCB data

Several areas continued to report poor air quality, including Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Wazirpur, Punjabi Bagh, RK Puram, Bawana, ITO, Chandni Chowk and Dwarka Sector 8

Meanwhile, Shimla received its first snowfall of the season on Friday, ending a prolonged dry spell of nearly three months in the hill town

Snowfall was also reported from higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh, including Manali, while several parts of Jammu witnessed rainfall accompanied by cold weather conditions

The IMD said temperatures rose by 2 to 8 degrees Celsius in low hills, plains and high hill stations, while mid-hill regions saw a fall of 2 to 6 degrees Celsius over the past 24 hours

The Shimla administration issued an advisory urging people to avoid driving until weather conditions improved, as heavy snowfall and strong winds were reported, with an orange alert issued for three districts and a yellow alert for nine others in Himachal Pradesh