Two days after Palam in Delhi recorded a peak wind gust of 120 kmph during a severe thunderstorm, Delhi woke up to another weather extreme on Thursday as the Safdarjung station reported a 7.1 degrees Celsius rise in minimum temperature within 24 hours.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city’s base weather station, Safdarjung, recorded a minimum temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.

Humidity at Safdarjung ranged between 29% and 59% over the past 24 hours. Across Delhi-NCR, minimum temperatures were mostly in the 28 to 31 degrees Celsius range, with Najafgarh at 31.5 degrees Celsius, Ayanagar at 30.6 degrees Celsius and Pusa at 30.2 degrees Celsius.

On June 9, Palam recorded peak winds of 120 kmph, a record-equalling gust for the station, while Pusa logged 80 kmph and Safdarjung 64 kmph during the same storm episode.

However, intense daytime heating, warm night conditions, and volatile storms are common during the pre-monsoon period.

Thursday’s warm night comes during a month that has historically delivered some of Delhi’s most extreme weather. IMD records since 2011 show June has regularly reported temperatures above 44 degrees Celsius, while rainfall totals can vary from barely 10 mm in dry years to more than 240 mm in wet years. The month marks the transition between peak summer heat and the onset of monsoon-driven thunderstorms, resulting in rapid shifts in temperature, humidity and wind conditions.

Yes. The IMD has warned of another active spell on Thursday and has issued an orange alert. Delhi is likely to see partly cloudy skies turning generally cloudy by afternoon, followed by very light to light rain with thunderstorm, lightning and strong surface winds of 50-60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph, it said.

Another spell of light to moderate rain, along with thunderstorm, lightning, dust storm and strong winds, is likely towards evening or night.

The IMD has linked the coming spell to a western disturbance, an upper-air cyclonic circulation over Haryana and adjoining areas, and a trough extending from Haryana towards the northeast Arabian Sea. The seasonal trough also runs from south Punjab to south Bangladesh across Haryana, west Uttar Pradesh and central India.

At the national scale, the southwest monsoon advanced further on June 11 into more parts of Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, remaining parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, more parts of West Bengal and some parts of Bihar. This is forecast to advance to Delhi by June 30.

As a result of the storm’s activity, temperatures are likely to fall to 34-36 degrees Celsius by Friday. Minimum temperatures are forecast to drop to 23-25 degrees Celsius on June 12 and 13.

IMD has forecast thunder squalls over Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan during June 11-12, with wind speeds of 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph. Isolated hailstorm activity is also likely over Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi and parts of northwest India during the same period.

By June 13, Delhi is expected to remain partly cloudy with another spell of very light to light rain, thunderstorm and winds gusting up to 60 kmph. On June 14, the city is likely to see partly cloudy skies with the possibility of thundery development towards afternoon or evening, the IMD said.