Monsoon arrives in Delhi two days early

NEW DELHI: The onset of the southwest monsoon for Delhi was officially declared by India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday. The monsoon further advanced over parts of eastern and western Rajasthan, eastern Haryana, parts of Punjab, Delhi and the entire Uttar Pradesh.
The capital received a spell of light to moderate rain in the afternoon with the maximum temperature recorded at 36.6 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal.The Safdarjung station recorded 14.4mm of rainfall till 8.30am on Thursday, and another 2.2mm till 5.30pm. IMD said light showers were expected to continue this week, but a strong spell of rain was unlikely.
The revised normal date for monsoon for Delhi is now June 27. Earlier, it used to be June 29. However, the onset this year was declared before the new normal date. Met officials said a spell of light rain would also occur on Friday before halting on Saturday and Sunday. A fresh spell of rain would commence from Monday.
Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD and head of the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, said while the initial forecast for Thursday was a spell of moderate rain with heavy rain in some parts, Delhi would now have to wait for next week for an intense spell.
“The monsoon trough has advanced further north and is now towards the foothills. We may see very light rain and drizzle on Friday, with no rain on Saturday and Sunday. From Monday, there will be a fresh spell of moderate rainfall,” said Srivastava.
The temperatures are forecast to gradually rise in the next few days, but they are unlikely to touch the 40-degree mark. Humidity, too, will remain on the higher side. Humidity levels oscillated between 59% and 92% in the last 24 hours.
While Safdarjung received 2.2mm of rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Lodhi Road recorded 2mm. The Pusa station recorded 1mm of rainfall. Met officials said rain was seen majorly in parts of south and central Delhi.
IMD classifies rainfall as “very light” when it is below 2.4mm, “light” when it is between 2.5mm and 15.5mm, “moderate” between 15.6mm and 64.4mm and “heavy” when it exceeds 64.5mm in a 24-hour period.
Delhi’s air quality remained in the “satisfactory” range on Thursday with a reading of 85 on CPCB’s Air Quality Index, but this was a slight deterioration from Wednesday’s index of 66.