Delhi and its suburbs were lashed with moderate to heavy showers yesterday. The weather activity was on the predicted lines. It was the first typical monsoon shower of August for the capital city and NCR. The base observatory at Safdarjung recorded 21mm and the airport Palam registered 26mm rainfall. Most of the activity was realized in just a couple of hours. Najafgarh, the outer side of Delhi observed a downpour with 87.5mm rainfall during the same period. Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida were lashed with sharp and intense showers, heavier than the interiors of Delhi. Even the peripherals of Gautam Budhnagar like Bulandshahr received high-intensity moderate showers measuring 34mm rainfall. Spread and intensity were good enough to waterlog the underpasses and flood the low-lying pockets. Traffic, as usual, was hit, more severely in some pockets. It is not yet over and done, more activity is lined up for the next 5-6 days, specially the weekend is to be watched out for.
Monsoon activity over and around Delhi is under the influence of seasonal monsoon troughs. It is running in its near-normal position keeping close proximity to Delhi. There are two cyclonic circulations along the track of the monsoon trough. A compact and small-scale circulation is marked over Northeast Rajasthan, Southwest Uttar Pradesh and Delhi region. Another broad-scale circulation is marked over North Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and adjoining Madhya Pradesh region. The east-west monsoon trough, a little inclined, is passing through and through these activity centres.
The circulation over eastern parts will move northwest over Northeast Madhya Pradesh and Southeast Uttar Pradesh. With this, the eastern end of the monsoon trough will shift northward, closer to the foothills. The western end will hold proximity to Northeast Rajasthan, Northwest Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. This will trigger the monsoon showers over Delhi and suburbs for the next 5-6 days. Showers could be more intense and widespread on the weekend, 10th and 11th Aug. The weather activity will continue during next week, extending well beyond Independence Day, 15th August 2024.
Image Credit: Times of India