Showers in store for Capital over weekend, predicts Met

IMD forecasts about the monsoon have been consistently wrong this season.

The national capital is expected to receive light to moderate rainfall and thunder during the weekend as it awaits the arrival of the monsoon, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday.

Delhi recorded an AQI of 81 on Friday, down from 108 the previous day. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times)

“Pre-monsoon showers are likely over the weekend, with rain and thunder likely to cover the entire city. Light rains will start from Saturday, and will intensify by Sunday,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre. He added that residents will have to wait a little longer for the official arrival of monsoon.

On Friday, the maximum temperature at the Safdarjung weather station, which is considered the official marker for the city, was 36.6°C, three degrees below what is considered normal for this time of year. The minimum temperature here was 25.1°C, three degrees below normal.

At the Palam observatory, the maximum temperature was 35.2°C, five degrees below normal, and the minimum temperature was 24.6°C, three degrees below normal.

IMD forecasts about the monsoon have been consistently wrong this season.

Last week, IMD announced that monsoon was expected to advance in the entire northwest India and hit Delhi by June 15. However, Met officials later retracted the forecast and said that the onset of monsoon had slowed down and is likely to take at least another week before it covers the Capital.

On Thursday, IMD predicted that the monsoon will reach Delhi in five days.

Some parts of Delhi and NCR received a brief spell of rain on Thursday, which also led to a slight drop in temperatures.

The rain and the increased wind speeds on Thursday also led to an improvement in air quality on Friday.

The Central Pollution Control Board recordings show that on Friday, Delhi’s overall air quality index was 81, in the satisfactory category. This was an improvement from Thursday’s 108 — moderate on the AQI scale.