Heavy rains and hailstorm on Thursday afternoon did not just leave the capital look like a winter wonderland but also improved the air quality. People witnessed heavy rains in most parts of Delhi NCR though hailstorm was only witnessed in some isolated parts including Noida and Greater Noida.

n n3 n4 n9 n10 n11 Improved air qualityAccording to the regional Meteorological Department, the minimum temperature is likely to rise due to the showers and hailstorms. Along with the scenic beauty, the beautiful weather also improved the air quality from poor to moderate with the Air Quality Index (AQI) of 176. n6 n7 n8
Hailstorm in Delhi is not unusual but infrequent. B P Yadav, the head of Indian Meteorological Department for the regional centre said, “A hailstorm is not unusual for this time of the year."

What caused the hailstorm?A number of factors contributed in making the weather severe. Some of them are:

- There was a confluence of winds coming from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, which met over northern India.

- At the same time, the jet streams (strong winds) passed from over the northern plains, which helped the formation of deep clouds.

- Low temperature and cold winds with western disturbance bringing showers over northern India, led to hail and thundercloud formation.

The MET department predicted that weather will be back to normal by Friday afternoon.

Source: indiatimes.com