Delhi’s Safdarjung station recorded a 25.4°C maximum—about 5.6°C below the October average—making it the coldest day in the capital in four years, the IMD said Thursday as Cyclone Arnab downgraded to a deep depression. The agency also issued red and orange alerts for thunderstorms across Delhi‑NCR, Uttar Pradesh, and much of the north.
Haryana’s Karnal dipped to 20.6°C, nine degrees below normal, while Ambala registered 23.8°C, six degrees under. Punjab’s Patiala reached 27.4°C, three degrees shy of the norm, and Ludhiana and Amritsar logged 30.4°C and 30.6°C, respectively, exceeding average highs.
Heavy rainfall has battered the east: Gudabanda in East Singhbhum, Jharkhand, poured 71.4 mm, and Ranchi recorded 26.2 mm. In Odisha, the Indian Coast Guard air‑lifted marooned residents from Ganjam, where Chief Secretary Anu Garg reported that roughly 300 villages were flooded.
The cyclonic system is expected to drift north and weaken into a low‑pressure area by evening, the Met Office warned. Thunderstorms and lightning were forecast for Himachal’s Shimla and Kangra districts, and the state issued yellow warnings for isolated hail storms.
As schools in affected districts of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha closed on October 28–29, families lined up for rescue teams. The Union Home Ministry will coordinate further evacuations, while local authorities are monitoring the weather for any sudden shifts in the next 48 hours.