NEW DELHI: After two days of rainfall, Delhi woke up to clear skies on Friday and weather experts said the city is likely to witness a dry and warmer week, with the monsoon expected to pick up again in the month.
The city, however, recorded well-above-normal rainfall during the first 10 days of July because the monsoon arrived over Delhi on July 2 against its normal onset date of June 27, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, received 132.2 mm of rain against the long period average (LPA) of 52.6 mm for the period, nearly 151 per cent above normal. More than 100 mm of this rainfall occurred over the past two days.
Mahesh Palawat from Skymet Weather said rainfall activity is expected to remain subdued in Delhi until July 15 because the seasonal trough has shifted towards the Himalayan foothills.
“Tomorrow and the day after, there could be isolated trace rainfall, but no major activity is expected,” he said. Palawat said temperatures are likely to rise while humidity levels are expected to decrease during this period. He said the seasonal trough could move southwards again after July 15, increasing the likelihood of another spell of rain over the city. He said the return of westerly winds carrying dry air from Rajasthan and central Pakistan had also reached Delhi, resulting in clear skies and bright sunshine after several days of cloudy weather and heavy rainfall.
He, however, said if Delhi receives any rainfall before July 15, it will most likely be isolated showers triggered by localised cloud formation rather than widespread monsoon activity. “The recent spell of rain was caused by the seasonal trough, which extended from Punjab to the Bay of Bengal. It was initially situated over central India, causing heavy rains. As the trough gradually shifted northwards towards the Himalayan foothills, it passed over Delhi, triggering widespread rainfall across the city,” Palawat said.
The maximum temperature at Safdarjung was recorded at 33.3 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature settled at 25.8 degrees Celsius.
The city’s air quality remained in the “satisfactory” category for the third consecutive day, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) standing at 67 at 4 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
Man falls into rainwater-filled drain in Noida, dies
A 28-year-old man, Aryan, died after falling into a roadside drain filled with rainwater while on his way to work in Noida’s Sector 58, police said on Friday, even as heavy rainfall caused widespread damage, waterlogging and road cave-ins across Noida and Greater Noida.