Monsoon may hit Delhi in next 2 days, IMD issues yellow alert till Tuesday

New Delhi: Monsoon is likely to reach Delhi in the next 2 days, said the India Meteorological Department. They have predicted light to moderate rainfall till Tuesday morning. The weather will improve in the national capital, following the rains. The weather department warned that a thunderstorm, accompanied by strong winds, going up to 50 kmph is likely to hit the city.

Heavy rains over north and northwest India: IMD

The IMD said that the north and northwestern parts of the country are likely to receive heavy rains in the next 2 days. The rains will happen due to the southwest monsoon advancing further into the region. IMD predicted a normal monsoon for this season. It is likely to hit Delhi by June 24, they said.

A senior weather scientist at the IMD was quoted by Times of India

as saying, “Southwest monsoon has further advanced over most parts of Himachal Pradesh, the entire Ladakh and Kashmir region, most parts of Jammu and parts of Punjab.”

He further said that the Northern Limit of Monsoon is currently passing through Jaipur, Agra, Rampur, Dehradun, Shimla, Pathankot and Jammu. The conditions are also favourable for its advancement towards North Arabian Sea, areas of Rajashathan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, in the next 2 days, he added.

Though the weather department had predicted rain in Delhi from Sunday onwards, no major weather activity or change in conditions was recorded on the day. However the air quality in the capital improved considerably.

Air Quality in Delhi

On Sunday, Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 92, which was in the satisfactory category. The improvement in the air quality can be attributed to sporadic rains and surface winds, which helped disperse pollutants.

Talking about the AQI, Delhi government released a statement saying, Punjabi Bagh recorded the lowest AQI among all major city locations, logging an AQI of just 62. Officials said that the good AQI was a result of consistent enforcement action and on-ground pollution control measures.

The officials said that in just 24 hours they impounded 211 old or end-of-life vehicles. The end of life vehicles are petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years. The traffic police also issued 11,157 challans across the city to owners of vehicles causing pollution.

On Sunday, Delhi experienced partly cloudy skies and a slight drop in daytime temperatures. The Safdarjung base station recorded a maximum temperature of 36.2 degrees Celsius, which was 2 degrees below normal for this time of the year. Just a day earlier, this weather measuring station had recorded a maximum temperature of 37.3 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature on Sunday was 28.4 degrees Celsius, which was higher than Saturday’s 27.8 degrees Celsius.

Humidity however continued to remain high in the city, making people feel uncomfortable. IMD is however expecting the maximum temperatures to go down further in the coming days.