Delhi temperatures drop by 8 degrees as overnight squall brings rain and wind

On Friday, June 12, 2026, residents across Delhi, including areas like Safdarjung, Palam, Lodhi Road, and Ayanagar, experienced a sharp temperature drop of up to 8 degrees Celsius accompanied by rainfall and strong winds. The sudden cooling was caused by a fast-moving squall line—a continuous chain of thunderstorms—that travelled overnight from Punjab across Haryana into the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).

The sudden shift in weather forced several commuters, including motorcyclists, to park on the roads to take shelter during the rain. The precipitation and cloud cover brought relief to the national capital after days of intense pre-monsoon heat.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Safdarjung base weather station recorded a minimum temperature of 22.8 degrees Celsius, which is 5.2 degrees below normal and 7.2 degrees lower than the previous day. Palam recorded a minimum of 21.6 degrees Celsius, while Lodhi Road and the Ridge area registered 22 degrees Celsius and 20.9 degrees Celsius respectively.

Rainfall measurements during the 24 hours ending at 8:30 AM on Friday showed Ayanagar receiving the highest volume at 12.4 mm. Safdarjung recorded 11.2 mm, Lodhi Road received 9.8 mm, and Jafarpur recorded 8.5 mm.

Krishna Mishra, a senior scientist at the IMD, explained that the squall line developed over Punjab on Thursday evening before moving eastward. Mishra noted that these fast-moving systems can extend across hundreds of kilometres and produce short-lived but intense weather, including torrential rain and straight-line winds.

During this period, southeasterly winds gusting up to 65 kmph prevailed over Delhi. Earlier, the same weather system had produced wind gusts reaching 111 kmph in Sangrur as it brought light to moderate rainfall across central and eastern Punjab and Haryana.

The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Friday, forecasting cloudy skies with light to moderate rain, thunderstorms, and lightning at isolated places. Wind speeds are expected to range between 40 to 50 kmph, gusting up to 60 kmph during thunderstorms, with similar conditions likely to persist into Saturday.