The monsoon current finally rolled into Delhi, yielding the season’s first spell of heavy rain on Thursday and bringing down the National Capital’s maximum temperature to 29.4° C, the lowest in four months.
Several parts of the city received moderate-to-heavy rainfall, with the Safdarjung observatory recording 116.6 mm precipitation between 8.30 AM and 5.30 PM.
The India Meteorological Department said the southwest monsoon advanced into Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, parts of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan on Thursday. The southwest monsoon usually arrives in Delhi on June 27 and covers the entire country by July 8.
The Met department has also issued an ‘orange alert’ and warned of moderate rainfall in the city on Friday. It has issued a ‘yellow alert’ for light rain over the next six days.
MUMBAI DRENCHED
Mumbai was also lashed by heavy rain on Thursday evening — the season’s first heavy downpour for the Maximum City. The downpour and subsequent waterlogging disrupted the movement of local trains, especially between Kurla and Parel.
The Met department has predicted heavy rain for Mumbai on Friday and Saturday and issued a ‘yellow alert’ at a few places. The agency has forecast moderate-to-heavy rain with occasional intense spells at isolated parts of the city for 24 hours from Friday.
MONSOON REACHES RAJASTHAN
The monsoon current also hit Rajasthan on Thursday, eight days after the normal onset date. Isolated places in Alwar, Dausa, Bhatarpur, Baran, and Jaipur districts in east Rajasthan recorded heavy rainfall.
Jaipur Meteorological Centre Director Radheshyam Sharma said the monsoon current usually entered Rajasthan from Kota and Udaipur divisions in the southeast. This time, it entered from Alwar, Bharatpur, and Kota in eastern Rajasthan. Sharma said the conditions were favourable for further advancement of the current into more parts of the state over the next 24 to 48 hours.
Most places in east Rajasthan are set to receive rain over the next three days. Heavy rain is also likely in some places, while some places in Bharatpur, Jaipur, Kota, Udaipur, and Ajmer divisions could get very heavy rain.
WATERLOGGING IN CHANDIGARH, MOHALI
Daily activities in large parts of Chandigarh were hit after a three-hour spell of rain on Thursday. The city received 72.9 mm rainfall during the day. The city civic body helpline received 120 complaints related to waterlogging, while traffic was paralysed on almost all main roads.
The waterlogging disrupted traffic for more than 90 minutes. There were reports of parked vehicles being damaged by fallen trees.
The season’s first heavy showers caused waterlogging in Mohali as well, leading to fire trucks being called in to drain out the water that had started to flow into houses. While local residents blamed the civic body’s inability to fix the city’s drainage system for the waterlogging, Mohali Mayor Amarjit Singh put the blame on water flowing down from Chandigarh.
With inputs from PTI
