As predicted by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, Delhi/NCR finally received some good rain on Wednesday. Pitampura, in last 24 hours received 44.2 mm of rain, Ayanagar 25.2 mm and Gurgaon 47 mm.
The maximum temperature also dropped by 8 to 10 degrees during the showers, which made the weather extremely pleasant in the capital. It however, rose marginally to settle around 28 degrees Celsius in the evening. The weather in Delhi is expected to remain the same for the next 48 hours, with some occasional showers in between.
According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, this could be a precursor to the arrival of Monsoon in Delhi.
Rain in Delhi in June was deficit by about 30%. The city received 46.8 mm of rain against an average of 77 mm during the month, which clearly shows how dry Delhi has been in June. And with an El Nino dominating the Monsoon in India this year, the average monthly rainfall of 214 mm in the month of July looks hard to be attained.
As of 2nd July, the northern limit of monsoon (NLM) passes through Veraval, Surat, Nashik, Wasim, Damoh, Lucknow, Bareilly, Ambala and Amritsar. In the next 10 days the NLM will cover almost entire Delhi/NCR and rest of Punjab and Haryana.
Here’s an outlook for Southwest Monsoon for the next 10 days-
First 3 days
Next 3 days
Last 3 days
picture courtesy- Anand Dubey
The erratic weather system in the Bay of Bengal has shifted further and is now positioned over West Bengal and adjoining Bihar as a low pressure area. It has an associated cyclonic circulation extending up to 5 km in the upper layers.
The system has brought in a lot of activity in the past 48 hours, particularly over West Bengal. Malda has received a total of 221 mm of rain till 8.30 am on Wednesday, while Alipore in Kolkata received 191 mm. But, as was expected, rain has reduced over Odisha.
Journey of the Low pressure area
In next 24 hours the system will travel and expand to cover Bihar and Jharkhand. It will take another day to reach east Uttar Pradesh and finally break up over west Uttar Pradesh and adjoining hills between the 7th and 8th of July. The system will make a slow progress, expanding to cover almost entire East India but will reduce in intensity. As far as rain is concerned, even parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Vidarbha, east Madhya Pradesh will receive rain besides West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.
Here’ a look at the prominent features of the system-
Weather activity in North India and Delhi comes from different directions during Monsoon in India. Precipitation here is driven by multiple factors, unlike just Western Disturbance in other seasons. Low pressure area, any cyclonic circulation originating in East India, the Monsoon trough and also Western Disturbances, which now track mostly northwards, affect weather in this part of the country.
Though most of the conditions required for arrival of Southwest Monsoon in North India have been almost met, the most important condition i.e. flavours of good rain is lacking and only light to moderate rain have been witnessed.
Nevertheless, as the Monsoon trough is making an appearance now, Monsoon rain is likely to become more frequent. The position and depth of this trough plays a predominant role and controls overall Monsoon activity.
Monsoon is definitely lurking around in Delhi and North India; a look at the prerequisites for Monsoon reiterates this fact:
Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and western parts of Uttar Pradesh will receive rain during next 24 hours. The hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will also observe some rain during this time. According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, this could be a precursor to the arrival of Monsoon in Delhi and rest of North India. Rain in Delhi and north western plains is likely to reduce from the 5th of July but the cloud cover may still persist.
picture courtesy- Raman Iyer
After witnessing one of the driest Junes in last ten years, July has started on a good note for Mumbai in terms of Monsoon rain. The hot and sultry condition has turned pleasant due to some very good showers being observed in the city today.
In a span of three hours, from 8.30 am to 11.30 am on Wednesday, Mumbai has recorded 104 mm of heavy rain, which is likely to continue in the city for next 72 hours. Normal life may be impacted as low lying areas are likely to get flooded and waterlogging may be observed at several places.
This is the first good spell of rain in Mumbai after 17th June. According to the data available with Skymet Meteorology Division in India, the city has observed an abysmal 88 mm of rain in the entire month of June against the monthly average of 523 mm. The lowest amount of rain that the city has received in the month of June in the last one decade is 216 mm, observed in drought year of 2009.
July is the rainiest month for the city, with an average rainfall of 800 mm. There are about 23 rainy days during the month and maximums settle around 30 degrees Celsius. Minimums too settle in the lower twenties.
Jeera or cumin seed futures slipped due to higher-than-expected local supplies in the major spot markets, though some fresh export demand could support prices. There was good demand for export of jeera, the prices will slightly rise in coming days, said the trader from Gujarat. Gujarat is major jeera producing state in India.
Weather conditions have not improved as expected in major cardamom growing tracts such as Kumily, Kattappana and Vandanmettu. The deficient southwest monsoon has created doubts about a possible delay in new crop. Cardamom prices gained on short supply at auctions held last week. Prices were Rs 418-1097/kg at Kochi.
