Morning showers continue in Delhi, monsoon onset on Wednesday: IMD

Another spell of early-morning rains made the weather pleasant in the national capital on Monday, but the heavy showers left many areas in the city waterlogged. The IMD said rains are going to continue over the next few days with the monsoon expected to reach the city on Wednesday.

The rains are a result of a trough running from north Punjab to northwest Bay of Bengal across Haryana, south Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and north coastal Odisha. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for Delhi, recorded 43.8 mm rainfall over the last 24 hours till 8.30 am. The weather station at Lodhi Road gauged 44.4 mm precipitation, according to the IMD. Many areas in the city and key road stretches reported heavy waterlogging.

Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the regional forecasting centre of the India Meteorological Department, said on and off pre-monsoon rains are going to continue in the national capital on Monday and Tuesday. The monsoon will reach the city by Wednesday after covering western Uttar Pradesh.

According to weather experts, earlier than usual arrival of the monsoon in Delhi can be attributed to a cyclonic circulation over West Bengal and the neighbourhood which moved towards southwest Uttar Pradesh on June 19 and 20.

"It helped in further advancement of the monsoon, it is expected to cover west Uttar Pradesh, and some parts of Uttarakhand by June 22 and 23," Srivastava said.

Thereafter, it will make an onset in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab starting Wednesday, he said. The IMD has predicted 103 per cent (normal) rainfall for Delhi this monsoon season.