Delhi will be hot and stormy on Thursday, temperatures to touch 38°C

If you thought May was supposed to be all scorching Sun and miserable afternoons, India’s weather on Thursday, May 7, 2026, is set to surprise you.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a patchwork of thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, and a gradual temperature rise will play out across the country simultaneously.

WILL IT RAIN IN DELHI ON THURSDAY?

Delhi is in for a mixed bag. Expect partly cloudy skies through the day, with the possibility of a thunderstorm developing towards the afternoon or evening.

Temperatures will sit in the range of 36 to 38 degrees Celsius during the day and drop to around 21 to 23 degrees Celsius at night.

A grey sky looms over Delhi as the capital braces for possible thunderstorms on the evening of May 7, with temperatures staying below normal for the season. (Photo: Reuters)

Though the mercury is edging upward, temperatures will remain below normal for this time of year.

Punjab and Haryana are also likely to see isolated to scattered thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching 30 to 50 kilometres per hour. Uttar Pradesh will experience similar conditions.

WHERE WILL IT RAIN THE HARDEST ON THURSDAY?

The northeast remains the wettest corner of the country. The IMD has warned of fairly widespread to widespread rainfall across Assam and Meghalaya, along with thunderstorms and gusty winds.

Isolated heavy rainfall is expected over Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Relentless pre-monsoon showers lash Assam and Meghalaya as IMD warns of widespread and heavy rainfall across northeast India. (Photo: Reuters)

Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim will also receive significant rainfall.

Meanwhile, South India is far from dry. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karnataka are all bracing for isolated heavy rain and thunderstorms, conditions that are forecast to persist for the next several days.

IS A HEATWAVE COMING?

Not just yet. The IMD confirms that heatwave conditions are expected only from around May 9 to 11 over isolated pockets of West Rajasthan.

Hot and humid weather is, however, likely over Konkan and Goa.

Dry, Sun-baked fields in Rajasthan hint at the heatwave that IMD says will arrive by May 9, but has not yet gripped the region. (Photo: PTI)

Maximum temperatures across northwest and central India are set to rise gradually by five to seven degrees Celsius over the coming days, so relief is temporary.

For now, May 7 brings a country in meteorological flux, stormy in some corners, humid in others, and turning hotter by the day.