Delhi’s wait for heavy monsoon showers could get only longer as the weatherman has predicted just ‘light to very light’ rain early next week.

While traces and light showers occurred in some parts of the city, heavy rain is expected only towards July-end. With scant rainfall in most parts and high humidity, there seems to be no respite from the high discomfort levels.

“Northwestern states usually get less rainfall even during the monsoon. Delhi is expected to get light showers on July 15. But heavy spells in cities such as Delhi are triggered only when there is a western disturbance or a low pressure system approaching. This is the usual phenomenon experienced by Delhi,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head regional weather forecasting centre (RWFC), India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Delhi receives an average 300 mm amount of rainfall during the monsoon, which could be covered even in one or two heavy showers, said a senior IMD scientist.

Between June 1 and July 10, Delhi received only 13.8 mm rainfall against the supposed 114.2 mm, a shortfall of 88%, as per IMD figures. Since the onset of monsoon in the city on July 5, the Safdarjung Observatory has recorded 25.4 mm of rainfall.

On Wednesday, Safdarjung Observatory, which is representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded 0.4 mm rain in the last 24 hours, ending at 8.30 am. Humidity levels oscillated between 80% and 53%.

The maximum temperature settled at 37.2 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal while minimum was 28.2 degrees C, also a notch above normal.

The IMD has forecast strong surface winds over the next three days. However, both day and night temperatures are expected to hover around 38 degrees C and 30 degrees C, respectively.

First Published: Jul 11, 2019 06:16 IST