This is the most delayed monsoon onset over the national capital since 2010. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha) Monsoon arrived in Delhi on Tuesday after several false starts.
The maximum temperature dipped to 30.5 degrees Celsius, five degrees below normal, and the minimum temperature was 23.5 degrees Celsius, four degrees below normal, as 28.1 mm of rainfall was seen in the capital till Tuesday evening.
It started raining on Monday night and continued through Tuesday morning.
The usual date set for the arrival of monsoons in Delhi is June 27. This is the first time in almost two decades that it has been delayed by 15 days.
Moderate rain is expected on Wednesday too, with the temperature expected to be in the range of 33 and 24 degrees Celsius. Light rain is expected on Thursday and Friday.
The city is still under a severe rain deficit.
According to IMD data, between June 1 and July 13, the city should have received 140.1 mm of rain. It has, however, got only 48.9 mm — a deficit of 65%, joining Ladakh and Manipur as the two other states/UTs with the highest rain deficit.
So far in the city, rainfall deficiency is the most in Central Delhi district at 94%, followed by South Delhi at 77%, and Southwest Delhi at 71%.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier announced that the city would see monsoon rain much earlier than usual on June 15. However, changes in conditions that promote the advancement of moisture laden winds meant that there were delays. IMD’s monsoon forecast for rain was wrong at least thrice.
On Monday, the IMD had called the failure to predict the monsoon in Delhi with accuracy “rare and uncommon”.
The longest delay in monsoon in Delhi was in 1987, when it reached Delhi on July 27. With Delhi finally getting monsoon showers on Tuesday, the southwest monsoon has covered the entire country.
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