Amid Heavy Rain in Delhi-NCR, G20 Leaders' Morning Trip to Akshardham Temple, Rajghat | Visuals

As UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak left for Akshardham temple on Sunday morning, heavy rains lashed the national capital. Visuals showed personnel, deployed for UK PM’s security, standing in raincoats amid downpour as Sunak prayed at the temple.

The India Meteorological Centre has predicted light to moderate intensity rain with thunderstorms in Delhi and adjoining areas. “Light to moderate intensity rain with thunderstorm moderate intensity rain over few places would continue to occur over and adjoining areas of entire Delhi and NCR,” IMD posted on X (formerly Twitter).

The weather office said that besides the national capital, adjoining areas of Loni Dehat, Hindon AF Station, Bahadurgarh, Ghaziabad, Indirapuram, Chhapraula, Noida, Dadri, Gurugram, Faridabad, Manesar and Ballabhgarh will also witness rainfall.

A fresh spell of rain lashed several parts Delhi late Saturday evening, bringing relief from the heat as the maximum temperature settled two notches below normal at 32 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was recorded at 23.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season’s average, the IMD had said.

The national capital recorded 10 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am. The relative humidity oscillated between 87 per cent and 98 per cent, the weather office said.

The Met predicted generally cloudy skies with light rain or drizzle on Sunday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to settle around 34 and 24 degrees Celsius respectively, it said.

The IMD has installed an additional automatic weather station near Pragati Maidan, where the G20 Summit began on Saturday, to provide specialised and real-time weather forecast.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, who are also in India for G20, went to Rajghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi as the rain halted. The leaders could be seen walking on the wet path.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the G20 leaders at Rajghat. United Nations Secretary General Antnio Guterres and IMF head Kristalina Georgieva were amongst the first to reach the venue.

Modi welcomed the dignitaries with an ‘angrakha’. After paying tributes to the Mahatma, the leaders will also sign on the ‘Peace Wall’ at the Leaders’ Lounge.

Maharashtra Rain

The IMD, meanwhile, has issued a yellow alert for the Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts till Sunday. However, Mumbai has been put on green alert from September 9-12 with a forecast of light to moderate rainfall.

(With inputs from PTI)