Delhi to see above-normal rainfall this year: IMD

According to IMD, the subdivision of Delhi, Chandigarh and Haryana will see above normal monsoon — 114% of the long period average (LPA) in the months of June to September

The Capital is likely to see an above-normal monsoon this year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday in its monsoon forecast for the country. The agency, however, did not specify when monsoon may touch Delhi this year.

Delhi has already logged 186.4mm in monthly rainfall, making it the wettest May ever for Delhi on record. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

According to IMD, the subdivision of Delhi, Chandigarh and Haryana will see above normal monsoon — 114% of the long period average (LPA) in the months of June to September. The normal monsoon mark for the Delhi-Chandigarh and Haryana sub division is 431 millimetres, IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.

As a whole, the country will also see above normal monsoon, 106% of the LPA, IMD said.

Delhi has already logged 186.4mm in monthly rainfall, making it the wettest May ever for Delhi on record.

IMD has in place a yellow alert on Thursday and Friday, with forecasts of light rain, thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds of up to 60km/hour.

“More rain is expected towards the end of the month, particularly on Thursday and Friday. There are also chances of light rain on Saturday,” said an IMD official.

Normally, monsoon reaches Delhi on June 27. However, it is currently advancing much faster than its normal date. It reached Kerala on May 24, a week before its normal date of June 1 and its onset was declared on May 26 over Mumbai, weeks ahead of its normal date of June 11.

On when monsoon is likely to touch Delhi this year, an IMD official said,“We are closely monitoring the progress.”

The long period average for rainfall in June is 74.1mm. However, Delhi logged 243.4mm in June last year. This was largely down to a single day spell of 228mm, which left the city inundated on June 28.

LPA of rainfall is the rainfall recorded averaged over a particular region for a given interval over a long period.

Meanwhile, the city became hotter as the maximum temperature rose to 37.4°C from 35.1°C a day earlier. It was still, however, three notches below normal. The maximum is expected to be between 38-40°C on Wednesday and Thursday, before dipping to around 35-37°C, following rain.

“More rain is expected towards the end of the month, particularly on Thursday and Friday. There are also chances of light rain on Saturday,” said an IMD official.

In terms of air quality, the air remained in the ‘moderate’ range. The air quality index (AQI) stood at 133 (moderate) at 4 pm on Tuesday, up from 105 (moderate) at the same time on Monday.

.