After having the unexpected and unpredicted extreme outburst of heavy rains on 28th June 2024, the national capital is more or less lying silent. Otherwise, July is one of the rainiest monsoon months for Delhi with an average monthly rainfall of 209.7mm, just next to August rainfall of 233.1mm. There is hardly any spell of steady and intense showers thereafter and the base observatory at Safdarjung has recorded a total of 80.2mm so far in this month. Monsoon showers so far have been sporadic, fleeting and patchy, as well. No heavy downpour is likely during the next week. Yes, light to moderate rainfall is expected on most of the days, during next week. However, these showers will not be consistent and uniform.
Delhi has received a mere 4mm of rainfall at Safdarjung observatory in the past 24 hours. The airport observatory at Palam recorded just 1mm of rainfall and the meteorological office at Lodhi Road had a trickle of only 0.8mm, during this period. Pitampura was stunning with decent pouring rains, measuring 42.2mm. Ghaziabad and Noida also received passing showers for a brief duration. Most other locations nearly went dry.
The monsoon trough is lying south of its normal position and is not favourable for any significant showers over Delhi during the next 2 days. It is likely to shift northward and also oscillate, raising hopes of relief showers, commencing 21st July and spilling over to the next week. The frequency, intensity and duration of these showers will be better than the week going through, so far.
A low-pressure area has formed in the Bay of Bengal, off Odisha and Andhra coast. This will move inland and change the wind pattern over the central parts of the country. Delhi, though quite far from the reach of the system, the monsoon trough will find favour and come closer to the city. It will maintain this position for a few days. Though, the national capital may not get drenched but is likely to be splashed, off and on, during the next week. Light to moderate showers may begin on Sunday, 21st July and keep handing over the baton for the next few days. Though, the cloud cover may provide some relief the temperatures will keep hovering around 34°-35°C during the day and in the mid-20s at night. The absence of significant rains may still keep the sultry conditions, as a norm, during afternoon hours.
Image Credit: Reuters