Light rain in Delhi brings slight respite from heat

New Delhi, Jun 30: Delhi woke up to a pleasant on Thursday morning as light showers brought relief from the sultry weather. The rain brought down the temperature, which had been soaring to 40 degrees Celsius over the past few days.

The IMD has issued an orange alert, warning of moderate rainfall in the city on June 30. The maximum temperature will come down to 33-34 degrees Celsius by July 1.

The southwest monsoon usually arrives in the national capital on June 27.

Senior IMD Scientist R K Jenamani said there is a prediction of good rainfall in the city on June 30 and the arrival of the monsoon can be declared on Thursday or Friday.

Pre-monsoon convection may lead to light rainfall in the national capital on Wednesday evening and provide relief from the heat, he said.

Last year, the IMD had forecast that the monsoon would arrive in Delhi nearly two weeks before its usual date. However, it reached the capital only on July 13, making it the most delayed in 19 years.

Asked about the delay in the arrival of the monsoon in Delhi, the senior scientist said a gap of around five days is considered normal.

"However, we did not see any major weather system developing in the Bay of Bengal (which could have pushed the monsoon forward). This year, it has mainly been a wind-driven monsoon," he said.
According to IMD data, the monsoon covered Delhi 29 times in June and 33 times in July in the last 62 years.

The IMD had in 2020 revised the date of monsoon arrival in Delhi from June 29 to June 27.

Weather experts have said the monsoon is expected to yield good rainfall in Delhi in the first 10 days and help cover the rain deficit.

Since June 1, when the monsoon season starts, Delhi has received just 24.5 mm of rainfall against the normal of 66.7 mm. All of it came between June 16 and June 20.