Monsoon arrival to take ‘a few days’ more in Delhi

However, IMD said that parts of the city are expected to receive light, patchy rain on Tuesday, which might bring down the temperature by 1-2°C though it will increase the humidity levels.

Delhi residents may have to wait a little longer before monsoon finally hits the national capital as its progress -- which was ahead of its typical schedule -- has slowed down over western Uttar Pradesh, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a fresh forecast on Monday.

At the Palam observatory, the maximum temperature was 38.7°C, while the minimum temperature was 25.9°C. (HT Photo)

However, IMD said that parts of the city are expected to receive light, patchy rain on Tuesday, which might bring down the temperature by 1-2°C though it will increase the humidity levels.

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said that as opposed to the earlier forecast, which predicted rain from Tuesday, rainfall activity is yet to intensify in western UP. “We have received rain in eastern UP, but it is yet to cover western UP. This might delay the monsoon by a few days in Delhi. We are not committing on a date yet, but we are observing the progress,” Srivastava said.

On Friday, IMD announced that monsoon will hit Delhi by June 15, almost 12-13 days ahead of schedule. Further, on Sunday, in a fresh update, Met officials announced that there was a possibility of further advancement of monsoon by around 48 hours, indicating that monsoon showers will start in the Capital from Tuesday.

On Monday, the maximum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung weather station, which is considered the official marker of the city, was 38.6°C, a notch below what is considered normal for this time of the year. The minimum temperature here was 25.5°C, three degrees below normal.

At the Palam observatory, the maximum temperature was 38.7°C, while the minimum temperature was 25.9°C.