Weather today: Delhi, Haryana, UP likely to see ‘very rare cold day’ — Why is it raining across India in March?

After heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, parts of North India could now be in for a "very rare cold day" this March.

Navdeep Dahiya, a weather expert and founder of Live Weather Of India organisation, claimed on X that a "Very rare #Coldday for north #India in late march 🥶 Max temp(Day) is expected in the range of 15 to 19°c in most parts of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh today [March 20], likely to be 10-15°c below normal."

"Winter is back for a day, Enjoy but please do take care!," Dahiya wrote on X.

'Cold Day' on March 20? What IMD has said

Delhi woke up to light drizzle and breezy weather on Friday morning, with the minimum temperature settling at 16 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degrees below normal, according to the IMD.

In a press release on Friday, March 20, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted normal to below normal day temperatures in the "next one week."

The IMD said on Friday that the maximum temperature in Delhi could fall by 5-6°C during the next 24 hours. It predicted the maximum temperature is likely to settle at 19-21°C on Friday, and the minimum temperature may touch 16°C.

According to the IMD data, the normal maximum temperature on March 20 (over the years) has been 31.3°C, and the normal minimum temperature has been recorded at 16.5°C.

More rainfall in parts of India | IMD predictions

India witnessed a sudden change in the weather on Wednesday, with rainfall lashing several parts of the country. Light drizzles and breezy weather led to a drop in temperature, with many enjoying windy mornings and evenings.

Between March 20 and 24, the weather department has predicted more rainfall, thunderstorm and even hailstorms in Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha.

Why is it raining at this time of the year?

People in Delhi, Bengaluru and other parts of India must be wondering now: Why is it raining at this time of the year? This rainfall, which has intensified since Wednesday, is quite "unusual."

Apart from the IMD, several weather experts and climate scientists have taken to social media to share regular updates on weather conditions and explain the phenomena causing these showers.

The weather department attributed the current conditions to large-scale thunderstorm activity across several parts of the country and the successive approach of western disturbances.

The IMD said in its weather update on Friday, "The Western Disturbance is seen as a trough from North Pakistan to Southwest Madhya Pradesh across Punjab and Rajasthan in lower to upper tropospheric levels."

It further informed that “a fresh feeble Western Disturbance is likely to affect Northwest India from 22nd March and another active Western Disturbance is likely to affect northwest India from 26th March 2026.”

'Very rare' trough 'turning summer into winter'

Meanwhile, the 'All India Weather', led by Dr. Pradeep who describes himself as a climate scientist, called these rainfalls "pre-monsoon thunderstorms literally turning summer into winter over various places of north and south!"

He said in a post on X, “An unusual Western Disturbance has reached North India. Its structure is quite different. A trough is situated in a straight line spanning thousands of kilometers, which is generally very rare. It has the capacity to create very strong thunderstorms and thunderclouds, so be cautious and follow IMD.”