By IANS
New Delhi : A western disturbance in Pakistan brought pleasant weather to northern plains Thursday as people in Delhi and neighbouring areas woke up to greener foliage and cleaner roads.
“It’s such a lovely weather…and very unexpected,” said Sarita Sahay, a professional singer.
“Although I have to be extra careful for any throat problems since changing weather generally brings health problems along with it, I enjoyed my riyaaz (practice) thoroughly today,” she added.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the reason behind the sudden rainfall is the western disturbances over north Pakistan.
“In summers, generally, whenever there is sudden rainfall it is because of the western disturbances. This sudden change of weather here is because of the same reason,” an IMD official told IANS Thursday.
“Besides the western disturbances over north Pakistan, cyclonic circulation over west Rajasthan and adjoining areas of Pakistan is also causing this unexpected rainfall,” he added.
The rainfall recorded Thursday in the capital was 2.8 mm. The minimum temperature was 18.3 degrees Celsius.
And for those who wish the weather stays pleasant for the next few days – at least until weekend – here’s the good news.
“The weather will remain pleasant like this at least for a few more days,” the IMD official said.
In Agra, however, the rain and hailstorm brought along some destruction. Strong winds in the middle of the night uprooted trees and hoardings.
In Firozabad district, potato cultivators suffered losses while in parts of Mathura district standing wheat crops were destroyed.
“The whole of Wednesday, it was bright and sunny and fairly warm, but as the night advanced we saw dark clouds menacingly moving ahead and a thunder storm led to disruption of power supply,” said Sudhir Gupta, a resident of Vijay Nagar colony in Agra.
The greenery in the Taj Mahal complex and around other historical monuments, however, appeared fresh and green after rains washed it off dirt and soot.