CHANDIGARH: After days of extremely hot and humid weather, Delhi is likely to get showers between June 30 and July 1, marking the official arrival of southwest monsoon in the city, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.
Senior IMD scientist R K Jenamani said in the next 48 hours, conditions will remain favourable for further advance of the southwest monsoon into remaining parts of Arabian Sea and Gujarat, after which it will reach parts of northwest and central India.
“The favourable conditions will reach parts of Rajasthan, remaining parts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir; some parts of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi between June 30 and July 1,” said Jenamani.
The usual date for onset of monsoon in Delhi is June 27. “It is slightly behind schedule, but will cover the rain deficit for June by the first week of July,” Jenamani said. Last year, Delhi saw the most delayed monsoon in 19 years, arriving only by July 13.
The IMD has issued an ‘Orange’ alert for light to moderate rain, thunderstorm and gusty winds up to 30-40 kmph while a ‘Yellow’ alert has been issued for July 1. Delhi’s heat index (how hot you actually feel) has been high over the past three days, making people sweat profusely and uncomfortable. Officials attributed this to humidity.
Mercury above normal
On Tuesday, Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, saw a maximum temperature of 41.5 degree Celsius, four notches above normal for this time of the year. The minimum settled at 30.8 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal. Relative humidity levels oscillated between 45 per cent and 74 per cent, as per IMD.