Rains likely return to Delhi on Monday, expect a pleasant week ahead

Localised showers are normal during the monsoon season. The moisture content of the air is high and a little heat gives rise to convective currents which in turn triggers rains in some places.

Rain and thundershowers could sweep Delhi over the next few days, starting Monday, officials of the Met department have predicted.

Usually Delhi receives the maximum rain in three months – July, August and September. But this year it received around 191.9 mm of rain in June – nearly 2.5 times of what it gets in June. This was the wettest June in more than a decade. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

“Rain and thundershowers could lashing Delhi on Monday and the spell could continue for the next few days. The mercury level will also drop by at least four to five degrees. Delhiites could expect to enjoy a pleasant week,” said a senior official of the regional weather forecasting centre in New Delhi.

Even though monsoon officially hit Delhi on July 2, the city hardly has received any rain over the past fortnight, barring a few spells on July 6 and July 11. There have, however, been some sporadic showers in isolated places.

“This time we are expecting some rainy days as the trough, which is actually an elongated low pressure area, is likely to come closer to Delhi. It is presently located in some of the northern states triggering heavy rains there,” said the official.

The shifting trough is expected to reactivate the monsoon current and churn some rain out of the rain bearing clouds.

Localised showers are normal during the monsoon season. The moisture content of the air is high and a little heat gives rise to convective currents which in turn triggers rains in some places.

“But for widespread and heavy rainfall, we need some bigger systems such as a trough or a cyclonic circulation, which could churn out rain from the clouds,” said the official.

Usually Delhi receives the maximum rain in three months – July, August and September. But this year it received around 191.9 mm of rain in June – nearly 2.5 times of what it gets in June. This was the wettest June in more than a decade.

“On Sunday too we had a cloudy sky. But as there were no rains, the temperature shot up to 36.2 degrees Celsius. Once rain hits Delhi, the temperature is expected to come down to around 32 degrees Celsius,” said the official.

The city was supposed to receive some showers on July 12 and July 13. But strong low pressure developed over east Rajasthan, which dragged most of the rain clouds which were supposed to trigger rain in Delhi, towards itself.