Why Has Delhi Seen So Little Rain After Monsoon Arrival? IMD Forecasts Wetter Week Ahead

The residents of Delhi were hoping for regular monsoon rains following the onset of southwest monsoon in the national capital on July 2.The people of Delhi had hoped for regular rains of monsoon showers since SWM set in in the national capital on 2 July. But patches of rain have continued with humid conditions still affecting the people due to slightly cooler daytime temperatures. Central and eastern India have been experiencing changes in the weather systems and it has brought a temporary relief from rain over Delhi but the weather is likely to be better from Sunday, according to weather experts.

Weather Systems Shifted Monsoon Activity Away From Delhi

Weather scientists said the monsoon trough was deflected from Delhi because there were dynamic weather systems elsewhere in the country. Here, a cyclonic circulation in Madhya Pradesh and low pressure in Odisha brought a part of rain to central India, which led to less of rain activity in the Capital.

"Cyclonic circulations over Madhya Pradesh and a low pressure area over Odisha had drawn the trough to central India, which has led to a reduction in rainfall. The city is likely to see the typical monsoon rain from July 5," said Mahesh Pehlawat, vice president of Skymet Weather, a private weather forecaster.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also said precipitation is likely to pick up in the next days and moderate amount of rain is forecast for Sunday and widespread rain for Monday, while thunderstorm is forecast for much of the week.

Delhi Weather Today: Warm, Humid Conditions Continue

Sunday started with cloudy skies in Delhi and warm and humid weather. The minimum temperature ended at 29.2 degree Celsius, 1.3 degree above the seasonal average.

The IMD has predicted mostly cloudy skies and moderate rains in the day today. Highest of expected temperatures is about 36°C.

The weather in the outdoors was still uncomfortable due to high humidity levels, as some stepped into 77 per cent at 8:30 am, which was below the seasonal average.

High Humidity Making Delhi Feel Hotter

Day temperatures have been above normal, but the high humidity has persisted, making the weather feel oppressive the city.

The maximum temperature in Delhi on Saturday was 35.4°C, which is about 2°C below normal, while the minimum temperature was 29°C, which is about 1.1°C above the seasonal average.

The air temperature was also extremely hot at 5.30 pm on Saturday because of the high amount of moisture in the air that is known as "real-feel" or heat index, which kept the temperature feeling much higher than the actual air temperature.

Rainfall Deficit Remains a Concern

So far, Delhi is getting significantly lesser rainfalls than usual during the ongoing monsoon season. The city received 32.91 mm of rainfall during the month of June, which is 55.6 per cent below the normal rainfall of 74.1 mm for the period of the month.

The IMD has forecasted increased shower chances for the next few days and residents will be expecting the rain to take place so that the deficit could be closed and there is relief from continuous humidity.