Noida may have to wait longer for monsoon rain

Noida: The south-west monsoon which was likely to arrive by Tuesday — a fortnight ahead of its usual schedule in the region — has slowed down even as the weather department speculates its new tentative arrival date

Noida: The south-west monsoon which was likely to arrive by Tuesday — a fortnight ahead of its usual schedule in the region — has slowed down even as the weather department speculates its new tentative arrival date.

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Earlier, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast that the south-west monsoon would hit the region by June 15. However, as rainfall activities in western Uttar Pradesh were delayed, the IMD speculated that there is a possibility that the monsoon is likely to get delayed by a few days.

“The monsoon has slowed down between eastern and western Uttar Pradesh. Apart from a few isolated places in West UP there is no rainfall activity there. We are still speculating the new arrival date of the monsoon arrival in NCR. If there is some weather activity on Tuesday then we can confirm a date; it may delayed by three to four days,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, IMD.

He added that the generally the monsoon, after traversing through Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Western UP, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, enters the NCR via Punjab and Haryana.

“This is a general trend and not a fixed route. This time, the east UP and Himalayan states of Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, the northern part of Punjab, and Haryana had already received the monsoon. So it’s slowed between Eastern and Western UP. We will be in better position to forecast based on the activities of the next few days,” Srivastav added.

As a ripple effect of the slowing progression of the monsoon, the mercury soared in several areas of the National Capital Region, including Noida. On Monday, the daytime temperature in Noida soared by three degrees Celsius (°C).

According to the IMD, Noida saw a maximum and minimum temperature of 36.6°C and 25.7°C, respectively, on Monday against 33.9°C and 25.7°C a day earlier. At the Safdarjung observatory, considered an average for the NCR, the mercury was recorded at 38.6°C and 25.5°C.

The Southwest monsoon hits the region late June, with 65cm (long period average) of rainfall expected between June 1 and September 30, considered normal for NCR (average based on old records). Last year, however, the region received 57.6 cm of rainfall which was about 88% of long period average (LPA).

For the entire country, the IMD has forecast the southwest monsoon to be normal — 96 to 104% of LPA, which is 88cm.

Last year, the monsoon arrived in NCR on June 25, which according to the IMD, was the first time in the past four years it came earlier than usual. Usually, monsoon rains arrives on June 29 in this part of the country.