The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday placed almost all cities in the Delhi-NCR region under an orange alert. The weather office warned of a possible hailstorm in Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad.

Delhi itself remains under a yellow alert. The IMD said the national capital is likely to see thunderstorms and lightning.

Several residents shared videos on social media showing hailstones falling on roads in Noida, confirming the weather warning.

Rain hits parts of Delhi

Earlier in the day, many areas of Delhi received light to moderate rainfall. Due to the changing weather, the IMD issued a red alert for some parts of the city and an orange alert for others.

These alerts warned people about continued rainfall and possible disruption. The advisory remained valid until 1:30 pm, and authorities urged commuters and residents to stay cautious while travelling.

Rain offers air quality relief

The rainfall is expected to help improve Delhi’s worsening air quality. On Tuesday morning, the city’s AQI slipped back into the “very poor” category.

The Central Pollution Control Board’s Sameer app recorded an AQI of 310. This decline came just days after air quality briefly improved following nearly a full day of rain earlier this week.

Gurugram also reported very poor air quality, with an AQI reading of 303. Of its four monitoring stations, two showed moderate air quality, one recorded very poor levels, and one station did not report data.

Coldest Republic Day in five years

Delhi experienced its coldest Republic Day in five years on Monday, January 26. Several parts of the city faced severe coldwave conditions.

The temperature dropped to 3.6 degrees Celsius, leaving residents shivering through the day. The last time Delhi recorded a lower temperature was in 2021, when the mercury fell to 2.1 degrees Celsius.

Weather officials said the sharp fall in temperature was caused by clear skies and strong northwesterly winds that continued through the weekend.