Delhi witnesses light rain with gusty wind; temperature drops

Over the last one month, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had been struggling to accurately predict when the monsoon will reach the national capital.

The national capital on Wednesday afternoon witnessed another spell of light rainfall, which further lowered the temperature. Those living in CR Park and nearby areas reported receiving showers on Wednesday afternoon, along with gusty winds. The city received the first rain of the monsoon season on Tuesday, more than a fortnight after the usual onset date of June 27. The weather department said that parts of the capital recorded light rain overnight.

The city received the first rain of the monsoon season on Tuesday, more than a fortnight after the usual onset date of June 27. (HT Photo)

The Safdarjung observatory recorded 29 mm rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8:30am on Wednesday. Delhi recorded a minimum of 26 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 34 degrees Celsius. Light to moderate rainfall is expected in Delhi over the next six days, according to news agency PTI.

Over the last one month, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had been struggling to accurately predict when the monsoon will reach the national capital. After several forecasts, the IMD on Monday acknowledged that "such type of failure by numerical models in the prediction of monsoon over the capital is rare and uncommon".

It had earlier said that the monsoon would hit Delhi on June 15, which would have been 12 days early, but the wind system entered a break phase.

The monsoon finally reached Delhi on Tuesday. Overall, the national capital has so far received 65 per cent less rainfall than normal, putting it in the category of "large deficient" states, stated the IMD.