Gurugram: SW monsoon onset likely by July 3; ‘yellow alert’ till July 6: IMD

Gurugram recorded a 37% rainfall deficit in June, receiving 29.9 mm of rain against the normal 47.1 mm, according to IMD officials

Scattered rainfall was reported from Gurugram on Wednesday morning as the southwest monsoon (SW) is likely to reach the city between July 3 and 4, a week later than its usual onset date of June 25, according to officials of India Meteorological Department (IMD).

IMD has also issued a yellow alert for Gurugram till July 6, forecasting light to moderate rainfall on July 1. (iStock picture)

The city witnessed a cloudy day with light rain reported from scattered areas on Tuesday. Gurugram recorded a maximum temperature of 40°C and a minimum of 29.3°C, while overcast skies provided brief relief from the prevailing heat.

The highest maximum temperature recorded in Haryana on Tuesday was 43.5°C at Rohtak, while the lowest minimum temperature was 25.5°C at Bhiwani.

IMD has also issued a yellow alert for Gurugram till July 6, forecasting light to moderate rainfall on July 1, followed by thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph from July 2 to July 6.

Shivender Singh, a scientist with IMD, told HT that a fresh western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India from July 2, which is expected to enhance rainfall activity across the region. On the delay in the monsoon’s arrival in Gurugram, he said it cannot be attributed solely to El Nino.

“Rainfall patterns vary from year to year, and while the region is currently witnessing a rainfall deficit, the delay cannot be explained by a single factor alone,” he said.

As per IMD, the seasonal trough at mean sea level now runs from Punjab to north Bay of Bengal and extends up to 0.9 kilometer above mean sea level.

Gurugram recorded a 37% rainfall deficit in June, receiving 29.9 mm of rain against the normal 47.1 mm, according to IMD officials. In comparison, the city had recorded 48.66 mm of rainfall during the same month in 2025.

In May, Gurugram recorded a 25% rainfall deficit, receiving 16.8 mm of rain against the normal rainfall of 22.4 mm, as per the data accessed by IMD.

Among Haryana’s districts, Ambala recorded the highest rainfall deficit in June at 86%, followed by Panchkula and Yamunanagar, both of which registered a 76% deficit.

Officials added that Haryana recorded a 44% rainfall deficit in June, receiving 30.5 mm of rainfall against the normal of 54.7 mm. Meanwhile, Haryana recorded 71.3 mm of rainfall in the same month in 2025, 29.3 mm of rainfall in 2024 and 80.33 mm of rainfall in 2023.

Officials also said that Haryana recorded its highest June rainfall in the past 26 years in 2008, when the state registered a rainfall surplus of 303% over the normal.

AQI ‘poor’

Meanwhile, Gurugram’s air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category on Tuesday. At 5 pm, the city’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 254.

Of the four monitoring stations, Vikas Sadan recorded the worst air quality, with an AQI of 328 in the ‘very poor’ category. Sector 51 and Teri Gram recorded AQIs of 263 and 254, respectively, both falling in the ‘poor’ category, while Gwal Pahari reported a ‘moderate’ AQI of 169.