After another dry weekend, IMD predicts rain for today

New Delhi: The long-delayed monsoon missed yet another date with Delhi which was kept waiting for the rains as the weather department said its arrival in the capital is likely to be declared on Monday. There have been several instances this season when the India Meteorological Department (IMD) got its monsoon forecast for Delhi and nearby regions wrong, leaving the area high and dry.

Though it is expected to rain in Delhi on Sunday, the arrival of the monsoon will be announced in Monday's midday bulletin — based on observations at 8.30 am on July 12, IMD scientist Sunitha Devi said. However, till Sunday night, there was no precipitation in the Capital.

Devi said unlike the onset of monsoon over Kerala, predicting the arrival of the monsoon in northwest India is a complex process, as the variability is high because of less rainfall compared to the southern state.

Wrong signals by models, difficulty in predicting the outcomes of the interactions between the easterly and westerly winds were some of the major reasons behind the IMD's monsoon forecast going haywire, experts pointed out.

The Southwest Monsoon has reached almost all parts of the country but has stayed away from parts of north India. It is yet to reach Delhi, Haryana, parts of west Uttar Pradesh and west Rajasthan. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted that monsoon is expected to cover these parts by June — a little less than a month back, but its predictions are yet to come true.

While the monsoon missed Delhi this weekend, the met office has forecasted a rainy Monday - with heavy to very heavy rainfall expected in the city.

IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the conditions are ripe for the advancement of the Southwest Monsoon over Delhi as humidity has also increased due to easterlies. He said the formation of a low-pressure area will also boost its advancement.

The weatherman said thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds (with a speed of 30-40 kilometres per hour) are very likely at isolated places in the city.

The maximum temperature in the national capital on Sunday settled at 39 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average, the meteorological department office here said.