With June coming to a close, Delhi continues to experience a sunny and humid weather, as the much-anticipated monsoon continues to elude the city, despite the India Meteorological Department (IMD) depicting its arrival between June 24 and 26.
The national capital witnessed cloudy conditions for the past three to four days but light to very light rainfall occurred only in a few areas. The IMD has predicted that the monsoons may now hit the Capital between June 30 and July 1.
In previous years, the monsoon arrived on June 25 in 2023, June 30 in 2022, and as late as July 13 in 2021.
Southeasterly winds, influenced by a weather system to the south of Delhi, brought moisture into the city but failed to trigger significant rainfall, senior IMD scientist Dr R.K. Jenamani said. "The middle level and upper level wind and circulation pattern was dominated by an anti-cyclonic circulation... which inhibited the advance of the monsoon towards Delhi," he explained.
The southwest monsoons have so far reached areas just short of Delhi, including Sonepat in Haryana and parts of Rajasthan. But it has not progressed further because of dry winds coming from northwest India that are preventing the rain-bearing clouds from building up. A weakening of other weather systems, such as a western disturbance and a cyclonic circulation, has also contributed to the delay.
The delay is not rare but it does stand out in comparison to other parts of India.
The monsoons hit Kerala on May 24 and Mumbai on May 26, earlier than usual.
According to the IMD forecast, Delhi may see light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and winds up to 50 kmph between June 30 and July 31. Rainy conditions are expected to continue into early July, with the monsoon likely covering all of India by July 8.
