Rain and thunderstorms swept across several parts of Delhi on Tuesday afternoon, bringing significant relief from the heat as temperatures dropped sharply across the city.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said thunderstorm activity accompanied by light to moderate rain was likely to continue through the evening hours.

The weather change came amid a red alert issued by the IMD for most parts of the national capital, with strong winds and dust storms preceding the rainfall.

According to IMD data, Safdarjung, the city's base weather station, recorded wind speeds of 52 kmph at 2.30 pm.

Other stations also reported strong winds, with the highest speed recorded at Palam, where gusts reached 91 kmph at 2.30 pm.

Pusa recorded wind speeds of 85 kmph at 3 pm, while Chattarpur registered winds of up to 43 kmph at 3.15 pm.

“The maximum wind speed was recorded at Palam, which reached up to 49 knots or approximately 91 kmph. The wind direction was west to south-west,” an IMD official said.

The weather department said thunderstorms and rain were expected to continue over the next few hours.

The rainfall led to a sharp decline in temperatures across the city.

Palam recorded a drop of 10°C following the thunderstorm activity, while Safdarjung registered a fall of 7°C.

The steepest decline was reported from Ayanagar, where the temperature dropped by 14.9°C, from 40.6°C to 25.7°C.

Jafarpur recorded a temperature fall of 11.6°C, while Pusa and Najafgarh saw declines of 7.6°C and 8.2°C, respectively.

Delhi had recorded a minimum temperature of 26.8°C on Tuesday morning before weather conditions changed during the afternoon.

The IMD has forecast further thunderstorms and rainfall, which are expected to keep temperatures in check and provide continued relief from the recent spell of hot weather.