Delhi to get patchy rain till Sunday: IMD

New Delhi forecasts increased weather activity, with thunderstorms and light rains expected this weekend, following a subdued monsoon onset.

New Delhi: After a subdued onset of the southwest monsoon in the Capital, weather activity is expected to pick up from Sunday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting thunderstorms, light rainfall and gusty winds over the weekend and into the next week.

The IMD has issued a “yellow” alert for Saturday, forecasting generally cloudy skies with one or two spells of very light to light rain (HT)

The IMD has issued a “yellow” alert for Saturday, forecasting generally cloudy skies with one or two spells of very light to light rainfall, along with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds of 30-40 kmph, reaching up to 50 kmph.

Experts have attributed the relatively weak onset of the monsoon over Delhi and much of north India to the influence of weather systems: a low-pressure area over Odisha, a cyclonic circulation over southern Madhya Pradesh, and adjoining parts of Gujarat.

“This low-pressure trough in central India has led to moisture content being concentrated in states like Mumbai, Gujarat and MP. When this weather system weakens by the night of July 5 and the following morning, we can expect more rainfall in Delhi and other northern states like Punjab and Haryana,” said Mahesh Palawat, president of Skymet Weather, a private weather forecasting agency.

The weather office has forecast light to moderate rain on Sunday morning, followed by another spell during the evening or night, along with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds of up to 60 kmph. Similar conditions are expected on Monday and Tuesday with generally cloudy skies.

According to the IMD, a low-pressure area has formed over the northwest Bay of Bengal adjoining the Odisha-West Bengal coast, while the seasonal trough extends from northwest Rajasthan to the Bay of Bengal. These systems are expected to keep monsoon conditions active over several parts of the country during the next four to five days, with Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi likely to receive fairly widespread rainfall from July 6 to July 8.

Meanwhile, Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, recorded a maximum temperature of 35.8 degrees Celsius on Friday, 1.6 degrees below normal, while the minimum settled at 28.1 degrees Celsius, 0.2 notches above normal.

The IMD said Delhi experienced generally cloudy skies with very light rainfall of 0.8mm at several places over the past 24 hours.