Wait’s over: Monsoon makes onset over Chandigarh
Monsoon marked its arrival in Chandigarh four days after the normal date of June 27, even as most of the country had already been covered
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared the onset of monsoon in the city on Monday after recording 21 mm rain at its Sector 39 observatory and additional rainfall in the region over the past 24 hours.
Monsoon marked its arrival in Chandigarh four days after the normal date of June 27, even as most of the country had already been covered. It also set over the city much later than last year, when it was declared on June 26.
IMD has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next two days, with officials predicting cloudy skies with potential rain and thunderstorms through July 4.
An IMD scientist stated, “Rain is occurring in the region, including parts of Punjab and Haryana. The Sector 39 observatory recorded 21 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. Based on this, monsoon has been declared.”
He explained, “For a complicated system like the south-west monsoon, many factors are at play. Even if there is a difference of three to four days, it isn’t considered a delay. Thus, monsoon has reached the city on time.”
South-west monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and entire Chandigarh, added IMD Officials.
The onset of monsoon is declared when the monsoon system enters the region and it rains continuously for two days as a whole over the region. The prevailing wind systems in the region are also important for declaring the onset of monsoon.
Premonsoons are defined as the showers in the city that start 48 hours before the onset of monsoon is declared. Easterly and south-easterly winds become predominant during this time, while during the earlier heatwave conditions, the westerly winds from the Rajasthan side were more powerful.
The humidity of the city had also increased significantly in the past couple of days, which reflected that the monsoon was close. Even on Saturday it had gone up to 72%, shooting up further to 78% on Sunday. A week back, humidity was between 35% and 61%.
On Monday, the maximum temperature at the IMD observatory dropped slightly from 37.7°C to 35.6°C, which is normal for this time of the year. The minimum temperature was 28.2°C, compared to Sunday’s 28.7°C, one degree above normal temperature. Over the next three days the maximum temperature may drop further to anywhere between 34°C and 33°C, while the minimum temperature will remain around 27°C and 26°C.