Delhi-NCR Wakes Up To Rain, Orange Alert Issued

Delhi-NCR woke up to widespread rainfall and thunderstorms this morning, Friday, January 23, 2026. The shift in weather has triggered significant alerts and a noticeable change in the city’s environment.

Weather & IMD Alerts

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued both Orange and Yellow alerts for the region:

• Orange Alert: Valid until 10:00 AM, warning of moderate rain and thunderstorms with gusty winds between 40–60 kmph.
• Yellow Alert: In place for the remainder of the day, as intermittent spells of light rain are expected through the afternoon and night.
• Temperature Drop: While Safdarjung recorded a high of 27.1°C yesterday (the warmest January day in 7 years), temperatures are crashing today. The mercury is expected to settle between 12°C and 19°C today, falling further to 7°C tomorrow, January 24.

---

Air Quality Update

The rain has provided a much-needed “washout” effect for the city’s pollution:

• Current AQI: Improved to 297 (Poor) as of 8:00 AM, moving out of the “Very Poor” (313+) territory recorded yesterday.
• Outlook: Monitoring stations in Anand Vihar (317) and Wazirpur (351) still show elevated levels, but overall air quality is expected to shift toward the “Moderate” category if the rain persists.

---

Top Trending Stories (Jan 23)

Category	Story
Entertainment	Yuzvendra Chahal denied reunion rumors with ex-wife Dhanashree Verma for the reality show The 50.
B-Town Buzz	Mrunal Thakur addressed wedding rumors with Dhanush via a cryptic post: “Grounded, glowing and unshaken!”
New Pairings	Vedang Raina and Naomika Saran (granddaughter of Rajesh Khanna) were spotted at Maddock Films for a script reading.
TV News	Saumya Tandon expressed frustration after her name was missing from the voter list ahead of local elections.