Rain, thunderstorms bring mercury down in the north
Low-pressure area over Arabian Sea likely to intensify into cyclone over Guj and Maha
NEW DELHI: Rain and thundershowers across northwestern India, accompanied by strong winds brought the mercury down on Sunday, with Delhi reporting a maximum temperature of 34 degrees Celsius, six degrees below normal, as weather officials said relief from the heatwave is likely to extend through the next week.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), meanwhile, said that the monsoon is set to arrive in Kerala on time on Monday, even as Maharashtra and Gujarat were placed on “pre-cyclone alert” as a low-pressure area in the Arabian Sea threatened to intensify into a cyclonic storm in 36 hours.
In northwest India, a fresh western disturbance will likely bring more rainfall and thundershower from June 3 to June 5, which will mean that a heatwave is not likely to return to Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) before June 8, weather officials said. Peak rainfall and thundershower activity is likely in the region on June 4.
“Heat wave conditions are unlikely till June 8. The combination of the upcoming western disturbance and low-pressure area over Arabian Sea will bring thundershowers over parts of DelhiNCR and rest of northwestern India,” said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, Delhi.
In Delhi, the maximum wind speed recorded on Sunday was 60kmph at Palam. The maximum temperature recorded at Safdarjung, which is taken to be a representative of Delhi, was 34.6 degrees Celsius, 6 degrees below normal, and the minimum temperature was 20 degrees Celsius, 7 degrees below normal.
Meanwhile, IMD said the southwest monsoon was likely to arrive over Kerala on Monday as conditions on Sunday were favourable for its advancement into some parts of the Arabian Sea, Maldives-Comorin area, southwest and southeast Bay of Bengal. “We are expecting favourable conditions for monsoon onset over Kerala because a low-pressure area has developed over southeast Arabian Sea which is likely to intensify the monsoon winds. With the intensification of monsoon flow we expect onset of monsoon,” said K Sathi Devi, head of the national weather forecasting centre.
IMD had forecast in April that monsoon rains this year are likely to be normal at 100% of the long period average with a model error of 5%. IMD will issue a second stage long-range forecast for the monsoon on Monday.
In another development, Maharashtra and Gujarat are on a pre-cyclone alert as a well marked low-pressure area over southeast and adjoining eastcentral Arabian Sea is likely to concentrate into a depression during the next 12 hours and to intensify into cyclonic storm, “Nisarga,” in the subsequent 24 hours, IMD said on Sunday.
The low-pressure area formed on Sunday around 5.30am and all environmental conditions are favourable for intensification of the low-pressure area into a cyclone, IMD scientists said. IMD officials said they will release details on the intensity and likely impact of Nisarga (if formed) only once they have clearer picture from the prediction models. Once formed, the cyclonic storm is very likely to move nearly northwards till June 2.