Rain intensity may drop in Delhi, humid days ahead: IMD

Met officials said the reason for the drop in rain intensity was the monsoon trough had shifted south of Delhi, it is likely to return close to Delhi-NCR on July 23 (Sunday), triggering light to moderate rainfall

Delhi and the National Capital Region will see drizzle and light showers in the coming days, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting high levels of humidity to remain at least till the weekend, following which the rain activity will likely intensify.

IMD has predicted high levels of humidity to remain at least till the weekend, following which the rain activity will likely intensify. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Met officials said the reason for the drop in rain intensity was the monsoon trough had shifted south of Delhi, and is only predicted to return close to Delhi-NCR on July 23 (Sunday), which will trigger light to moderate rainfall.

“Delhi will see isolated drizzle to light rain in the next three days now. Cloudiness will still persist, and humidity will be high, without significant rain,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.

“Rain activity will depend on the positioning of the monsoon trough, which is currently passing through Phalodi and Kota in Rajasthan. It is south of Delhi and once it returns closer to the Capital, we can expect more rain,” he added.

Delhi recorded trace rain on Wednesday, with the Safdarjung observatory, representative of the Capital, recording a maximum of 36.5 degrees Celsius (°C) — a notch above normal. The minimum was recorded at 27.6°C, which is normal for this time of the year. Relative humidity oscillated between 61 and 94% through the day, IMD said.

So far this month, Safdarjung has recorded 331.3mm rainfall, which is in excess of the monthly long period average (LPA) of 209.7mm.

This is only the third time that Delhi has crossed 300mm for the month in the last 15 years — 507.1mm in July 2021, and 340.5mm in July 2013.

Rainfall was recorded on 14 out of the 19 days this month, which has also helped keep Delhi’s pollution levels in check. The 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) returned to the satisfactory range of 77 on Wednesday, after being moderate a day earlier with a reading of 113.

Forecasts by the Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi — a forecasting mechanism under the Union ministry of earth sciences, show that the city’s AQI is likely to remain satisfactory till at least July 22.