Delhi sweats as monsoon takes a rain check

NEW DELHI: India Meteorological Department announced on Tuesday that the southwest monsoon would reach Delhi likely on June 30 or July 1. This forecast should hearten Delhiites, who suffered another uncomfortable day of high temperature and humidity on Tuesday.

IMD expects rain activity to begin from Wednesday and provide a respite from Thursday, even issuing an ‘orange’ alert predicting light to moderate rain with gusty winds on Thursday.
With the monsoon missing its normal onset date of June 27, the capital has been crying for rain. Delhi has received just 15.8mm of rainfall in June so far as against the normal of 56.1mm, a rain deficit of 72%. “The monsoon is likely to hit Delhi between June 30 and July 1. It depends on rainfall distribution and rain intensity,” said R K Jenamani, senior scientist, IMD. The met department hadn’t forecast a date for monsoon onset in Delhi earlier to this.
However, the arrival of the rain-bearing monsoon may still be delayed this year. “Three to five days from the normal onset date is not considered a delayed monsoon. However, we can comment on this only after the monsoon hits Delhi,” said Jenamani. According to IMD, the monsoon arrived in Delhi on July 13 in 2021 and on June 25 a year earlier.
Though the met department has predicted rain activity from Wednesday, the day temperature showed no sign of abating on Tuesday. The maximum temperature recorded at Safdarjung, which is the city’s base station, was 41.5 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal. Before this, the city’s highest maximum temperature for the month was on June 15 with 39.6 degrees Celsius.
The heat index (feel-like temperature when relative humidity is combined with temperature) was 53 degrees Celsius. The relative humidity oscillated between 74% and 45%. “Due to easterly winds, the weather has become humid for the past three days,” explained Jenamani. “However, as the clouds have arrived, rain can be expected in the city from Wednesday.” Jenamani added, “On Tuesday, the maximum temperature recorded in most stations departed by four to six degrees from the normal.”
According to IMD, Najafgarh recorded a high of 44.2 degrees Celsius, followed by Pusa at 43.5 degrees Celsius. Pitampura and Mungeshpur recorded a maximum temperature at 43.3 and 43.2 degrees Celsius, respectively, while both Palam and Ayanagar saw a maximum temperature of 42.2 degrees Celsius. The Ridge was the lone station on Tuesday to record ‘trace’ rainfall till 5.30pm.