Rain 10 days behind scheduled date of June 29
Delhiites will have to wait a little longer for rainy days as the monsoons are expected to hit the Capital only towards the second week of July; nearly 10 days behind the scheduled date of June 29. While the weatherman has already predicted the rain gauge to measure a below normal monsoon in the city this year, it has added to the woes by announcing its late arrival.
Earlier the MeT Department had claimed the onset of monsoons shall be anytime between June 29 and June 30. June 29 is also the mean date for its arrival in the national Capital. However, now the arrival of monsoon is set to take some time due to lack of any strong weather phenomenon. “Monsoons will set in Delhi not before the end of July first week. To be precise, it shall begin only towards the second week. This is because the easterly winds which are forming over the Bay of Bengal are nor moving westwards. They are not strong enough,” said Ravinder Vishan, scientist in-charge, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC), Delhi.
Besides, the amount of rainfall too is expected to be much lower than normal, MeT officials said. “The whole of India will be facing weak monsoon this year. Delhi is no exception to this. The situation might improve only in the later half of the next month,” said the weatherman. A day after Delhi received light showers, weather turned hot and humid as temperatures hovered around the 40°C mark in the city. The humidity level in the national Capital was recorded between 85 per cent and 42 per cent and the maximum temperature was registered at 39.9°C, the MeT Department said.
The maximum temperature settled at 39.9°C, three notches above normal, while the maximum at Palam Observatory was registered at 42.5°C, four degrees above the normal. Maximum temperature at Ayanagar Observatory was recorded at 41.5°C while at Ridge it was 42.2°C. The minimum temperature was recorded at 28.8°C, a notch above the normal, the MeT Department said, adding that the city received 0.2 mm rainfall till 8.30 am.
The weatherman has forecast a partly cloudy sky with the maximum and minimum temperature expected to be around 41°C and 30°C on Saturday. “Rains are not expected over the weekend. Only thunderstorms might occur,” said an official in the MeT Department.