IMD issues three-day 'Orange' alert for Delhi

NEW DELHI: The weather in the city remained humid and cloudy on Sunday, despite the meteorological department's prediction of light to moderate rain. No rain was recorded until late Sunday evening.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has, however, issued an orange alert for heavy rain for the next three days — Monday to Wednesday.

On Sunday, the humidity oscillated between 60% and 97% throughout the day, with bright sunshine in a few places, making it uncomfortable to be outdoors for too long.

“The monsoon is towards the south of Delhi and is expected to move northwards on Monday. It will pass over Delhi and thus there are chances of good rain over the city on Monday and Tuesday. It will thereafter pass over towards the Himalayan foothills,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president, climate change and meteorology, Skymet.

Meanwhile, the city's base station, Safdarjung, recorded a maximum temperature of 37.1 degrees Celsius, the season’s normal, against 35.6 degrees Celsius a day earlier. The minimum temperature was 27 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal, against 28 degrees Celsius a day earlier.

June recorded extreme heat and extreme rain events. The average monthly minimum temperature was 29.8 degrees Celsius, which is 1.9 degrees Celsius higher than the long-period average for June at 27.7 degrees Celsius. This figure is the highest for the month since 2012 (30.6 degrees Celsius).

Despite normal or below normal temperatures, high humidity levels also kept the feel-like temperature or heat index high. The heat index on Sunday was marked at 51 degrees Celsius.

The net monthly rainfall for June was 243.4 mm (228% excess rainfall), the highest since 1936 for the month. Of this, 228.1 mm was recorded on Friday, the day monsoon arrived in the city.

Meanwhile, the IMD had forecast heavy rain for the city with gusty winds reaching 30-40 kmph. On Monday, the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to drop and hover around 33 and 26 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The southwest monsoon brought heavy rain and thunder showers to Bhopal, with early onset this year. Weather systems like a western disturbance and cyclonic circulation led to showers in multiple state locations. Temperature variations were observed with weather warnings issued for various districts. Monsoon progress indicated further expansion into different states with a defined northern limit.