A cool breeze and pleasant weather after a spell of heavy rain announced the arrival of monsoon in the Capital on Thursday. Notwithstanding predictions of a deficient rainfall this season, the showers in the afternoon brought much-needed respite from the sweltering heat that had been troubling Delhiites for the past few days.
The Met Department confirmed the arrival of monsoon in Delhi along with other parts of North India. “Monsoon has arrived in Delhi and in several parts of North-West India. There is sufficient humidity and winds are flowing in from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, which is a typical sign of the monsoon’s arrival in North India,” said BP Yadav, IMD Director. Apart from Delhi, States like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan were also lashed by rain on Thursday.
While the city rejoiced over the monsoon showers for the second consecutive day, the Met Department has predicted a weak monsoon this time. “North-West region of India will suffer a deficit rainfall of over 15 per cent. This means Delhi too shall see a comparatively weaker rainfall,” added Yadav. The month of June has already seen a 30 per cent deficit in rainfall.
An average South Westerly monsoon in the Capital witnesses at least six to eight rainfall systems from July to September. If Delhi receives around 196.16 millimeters of rainfall during these three months, then the monsoon is said to be normal. Similarly, a mean of 38.2 rainy days in July, August and September is normal. But this time, Met Dept officials are doubtful that the city shall meet any of these figures.
“At least in the coming week, it is certain that rain shall be scarce or sporadic, but the situation may improve gradually if new intense systems are formed. Currently, apart from winds from the two seas, the rainfall is also occurring because of western disturbance and a cyclonic circulation active over Punjab,” said M Duraisamy, in-charge, Regional Weather Forecast Centre, Delhi.
Meanwhile, the arrival of monsoon in Delhi brought much-needed respite from the sultry weather as both the maximum and minimum temperatures settled below normal on Thursday. The city received 5.5 mm of rain between 8:30 am to 5:30 pm bringing the mercury below the 35 degree mark.
Following the rainfall, the day temperature was recorded at 32.7 degree Celsius which was three degrees below normal for this time of the year. The minimum temperature was recorded at 26.1 degree Celsius, which was a notch below normal. This was mainly due to the four mm rainfall that the city received in the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 am. Residents experienced high humidity throughout the day as humidity levels hovered between 71 and 85 per cent.
The weatherman has forecast a partly cloudy sky with the possibility of rain every day of the week and thundershowers in some areas on Friday. “The maximum and minimum temperatures on Friday are expected to be around 35 and 26 degrees, respectively. Rain is expected on all days at least till July 7,” the Met Department added.