The southwest monsoon officially began over Mumbai and Delhi on Sunday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD released a statement on Sunday morning that read, “Southwest monsoon has advanced over Mumbai and Delhi today, June 25th 2023,” adding that further specific information about the monsoon and its progress will be released later in the day.
The monsoon arrived two days earlier in Delhi than it did in Mumbai, where it was delayed by 14 days. Monsoon onset typically occurs on June 11 over Mumbai and June 27 over Delhi between 1961 and 2019. However, because both cities saw an onset concurrently, this has made this a particularly unique monsoon year.
On June 21, 1961, both cities last experienced a monsoon at the same time.
Till 8:30am on Sunday, Safdarjung, a neighbourhood that serves as a reflection of Delhi’s weather, reported 48.3mm of rainfall over a 24-hour period, with the most of it falling in the morning.
The weather service has issued an orange advisory for the rest of the day due to the persistent rain, and more rain is expected. An analogous orange signal is in effect for Monday as well, with the IMD predicting mild to moderate showers across most of the country, according to officials.
Among other stations, Lodhi road received 59.6mm of rainfall till 8:30 am, Ayanagar 54mm, Ridge 27.4mm and Palam 29.6mm.
Till 8:30am on Sunday, Delhi recorded 71.4mm of rainfall so far this month. The long-period average (LPA) for Delhi for June is 74.1mm, which is likely to cross in the coming days.
When there is between ‘trace’ and 2.4mm of precipitation in a 24-hour period, the IMD describes it as’very light’ precipitation. ‘Light’ rainfall is defined as falling between 2.5mm and 15.5mm;’moderate’ rainfall is defined as falling between 15.6mm and 64.4mm; and ‘heavy’ rainfall is falling at a rate of exceeding 64.4mm per day. Light showers are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday as well. Some rain is expected to fall in Delhi through Friday, making for a wet month’s finish.
On June 30 of the previous year, the onset was declared over Delhi. The monsoon began in Delhi in 2021 on July 13 – 16 days later than usual and the slowest start since 2002.
Since 2020 and 2015, when it came on the same day—June 25—the southwest monsoon hasn’t arrived in Delhi earlier than it has this year. The previous time it did so was in 2013, when it arrived in Delhi on June 16.
Due to the rain, Delhi’s minimum temperature was likewise 23.1°C, which is five degrees below average. A day before, it was 30.4°C. The maximum temperature in Delhi on Saturday was 37.4°C, while the prediction for Sunday indicates that it will likely be around 32°C.
Delhi’s air was rated as having a moderate level of air quality. A little improvement from a measurement of 169 (moderate) at 4pm on Saturday, the average air quality index (AQI) was 162 (moderate) at 10am on Sunday. The AQI is forecast to touch the satisfactory range by Monday, dipping below 100.
The IMD stated in its monsoon bulletin on Saturday that the southwest monsoon was expected to advance further over the majority of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, remaining portions of Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, additional portions of Haryana, including Chandigarh and Delhi, some portions of Gujarat, East Rajasthan, and Punjab over the course of the next 48 hours.
