Gurgaon: The city recorded the state’s lowest minimum temperature — at 20°C — even as a spell of rain and thunderstorms brought some relief from the heat across Haryana on Friday.According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city also witnessed one of the sharpest overnight drops in temperature, with the mercury falling by 7 degrees Celsius in the past 24 hours.The minimum temperature dropped from 26.4°C on May 28 to 20°C on May 29, making Gurgaon the coolest location in Haryana. The temperature was also 5.9°C below normal for this time of year.The relief was visible not just during the night but also during the day. Gurgaon recorded a maximum temperature of 34.4°C on Friday, a sharp decline of 4.4°C from 38.8°C on Thursday and more than 9°C lower than the 43.5°C recorded on May 27. The drop marks a dramatic turnaround from the intense heat conditions that gripped the city earlier this week.The sharp fall follows a week of unusually warm weather in the city. IMD records show the minimum temperature was 32.6°C on May 21, while maximum temperatures remained above the 40°C mark on most days before the recent weather system brought widespread cooling.Rainfall accompanied the cooling trend. The IMD observatory in Gurgaon recorded 3.5 mm of rainfall during the past 24 hours, while a city automatic weather station logged 7 mm of rainfall.Across Haryana, the average minimum temperature fell by 2.8°C compared with Thursday and remained 1.9°C below normal, according to the Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh. Besides Gurgaon, Bhiwani also recorded a 7°C decline in minimum temperature.While residents woke up to the coolest morning of the month, the weather department warned that conditions remained favourable for another round of thunderstorm activity over south Haryana.The IMD has placed Gurgaon, Nuh, Rewari, Mahendragarh and several adjoining districts under an orange alert for Saturday, warning of severe thunderstorms, lightning, squalls and hailstorm activity. Under the orange alert category, wind speeds of 60-80 kmph, gusting up to 90 kmph, are likely at isolated places.The district-wise forecast issued by IMD shows much of south Haryana under the highest warning category, labelled “Take Action”. Several central and western districts remain under an orange alert, while northern and eastern districts have been placed under a yellow alert for thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds.In its latest nowcast issued at 6.20pm, valid till 9.20 pm, the IMD retained the red alert over large parts of south Haryana, including Gurgaon district. The warning covers Gurgaon, Sohna, Pataudi, Taoru, Nuh, Rewari, Bawal, Kosli, Mahendragarh, Narnaul, Ateli, Palwal, Hodal, Punhana and Ferozepur Jhirka, where severe thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and wind speeds of 60-80 kmph are likely.Districts immediately north of the red alert zone — including parts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri — remain under an orange alert for moderate thunderstorms and winds of 40-60 kmph, while northern districts are under a yellow alert.Weather expert Navdeep Dhaiya said the thunderstorm system that brought rain to Delhi-NCR and Haryana overnight shifted eastwards towards Bihar and Jharkhand. However, fresh convective activity was expected to develop over northwest India during the evening and night, potentially triggering another round of thunderstorms across Gurgaon and adjoining districts.By Friday evening, isolated parts of Gurgaon witnessed brief spells of rain lasting less than 10 minutes. Areas including Udyog Vihar, MG Road and Shankar Chowk received light showers, accompanied by dark clouds and gusty winds.However, by 7.15pm, no widespread rainfall, thunderstorm activity or strong winds was witnessed in most parts of the city despite the red alert remaining in force. Weather officials said localised thunderstorm development could still occur during the night hours.According to the department’s five-day outlook, weather warnings remain in place for May 29 and May 30, while no warning has been issued for May 31, June 1 and June 2, indicating a gradual stabilisation of weather conditions thereafter.The sharp cooling has effectively ended the heatwave-like conditions that prevailed earlier this week, bringing the coolest night and one of the coolest days of the month to Gurgaon. Whether the forecast thunderstorms materialise later in the evening will determine if the city receives another round of weather relief before conditions begin stabilising over the weekend.
