Light rain in few areas, temp high

The city received strong showers for two days after the monsoon arrived on July 13, albeit 16 days behind schedule.

Four days after the onset of monsoon, a hot and humid spell continued in the Capital on Saturday as rain stayed away for most of the day and mercury rose to above normal temperature levels once again. Some parts of the city, including few areas in Dwarka and South Delhi, received light rain late evening on Saturday.

Commuters crossing a waterlogged stretch along NH24 near Mayur Vihar during heavy rain in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj / Hindustan Times)

Weather forecasters, however, said relief is in sight and predicted “moderate to heavy rainfall” across Delhi-NCR on Sunday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an “Orange alert” for Sunday, with heavy rainfall expected in isolated pockets.

“The monsoon trough has shifted slightly northwards and is crossing over west Rajasthan, Haryana and east Uttar Pradesh. It is likely to reach close to Delhi late on Saturday night, which may result in light rain overnight. Besides, mostly moderate rainfall across the city with intense showers in isolated pockets is expected on Sunday,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, IMD’s head of regional weather forecasting centre.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet Weather, a private forecaster, said, “Moderate showers are likely to continue till July 20,” said Palawat.

The city received strong showers for two days after the monsoon arrived on July 13, albeit 16 days behind schedule.

However, the showers mostly halted since Thursday, after which Delhi has seen only traces of rain. Weather experts noted that Saturday was “mostly dry” with just light rain in parts of Dwarka -- southwest and near the sports complex -- and some areas in south Delhi. The maximum temperature touched 38.8°C, four notches above the season’s normal, and the minimum settled at 28.1°C, a degree above normal.

A senior IMD official said high temperatures during the monsoon are not unusual: “This is because high humidity levels and inadequate intermittent rainfall causes the mercury to rise. It feels even hotter because of the combined effect of heat and humidity.”

Independent weather experts expect July to be mostly dry. The delayed onset of the monsoon in the Capital may mean that Delhi, which usually gets the bulk of its showers in July, receive most of its rain only in August. So far, the rain deficit for July is around 50%. Meanwhile, Palawat said Delhi is likely to cover a large part of its rainfall deficit in the next four days.