The residents of Delhi woke up to a surprise spell of heavy rain and gusty winds on Saturday morning that brought respite from the heat wave.  The weather department has issued a thunderstorm alert for the national capital and nearby areas.

A cluster of clouds are passing through the Delhi-NCR. Under its influence: Thunderstorm/ Duststorm with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds with speed of 40-70 Km/h would continue Delhi-NCR & adjoining areas during next 2 hours,” tweeted India Meteorological Department.

A cluster of cloud patches are passing through the Delhi-NCR. Under its influence:

Thunderstorm/ Duststorm with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds with speed of 40-70 Km/h would continue Delhi-NCR & adjoining areas during next 2 hours. pic.twitter.com/UR8fdktm7B

— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) May 27, 2023

An update said the rainy condition will continue for another two hours.

The unseasonal rain broke the heat wave that had taken temperatures past  the 45 degrees Celsius-mark earlier this week. The cool spell is likely to last till May 30, according to IMD.

Delhi’s maximum temperature settled at 34.5 degrees Celsius on Friday which was a good five notches below normal.

Heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature reaches 40 degrees in the plains, 37 degrees in coastal areas and 30 degrees in hilly regions.

The weather office has also forecast a normal monsoon this year although there will be a slight delay in its arrival.