Rain brings down temperature; monsoon on time, says IMD

NEW DELHI: After four days of uncomfortable heat—a mix of high temperature and humidity—Delhi received light rain in some parts on Friday and Saturday.

India Meteorological Department scientists are hoping the monsoon will arrive on its normal date around June 27 in Delhi as it has already reached parts of Bihar in the east and is likely to reach Gujarat in the west in a day.

“It rained in different parts of the city, including Lodhi Road on Saturday. On Friday, there was light rainfall in north Delhi. This is happening because of a combination of factors. There is a cyclonic circulation over Delhi and Haryana and a trough, or a line of low pressure, stretching from Punjab to Odisha. There are moist easterly winds. We can expect some light rainfall in the next couple of days also,” Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, said. “Monsoon is likely to arrive in Delhi around June 27 after crossing east and west UP,” he added.

The monsoon has advanced into Madhya Maharashtra, most parts of Marathwada and Vidarbha, parts of Chhattisgarh, all of

Odisha and West Bengal and most parts of Jharkhand and Bihar according to IMD’s Saturday bulletin. Conditions are becoming favourable for the further advance of the monsoon into all of central Arabian Sea, some parts of North Arabian Sea, the remaining parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai some more parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar and even some parts of south Gujarat by Sunday.

“The monsoon has strengthened because of the low-pressure system which developed over the Bay of Bengal. By next week, it will enter Gujarat, covering many parts of central India. This system has helped the monsoon move at its pace. It’s too early for us to tell if it will arrive over Delhi on its normal date, June 27,” K Sathi Devi, head, national weather forecasting centre, said.