The India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared the onset of the Southwest monsoon in Delhi and other parts of North India on Friday, following heavy rainfall in the Capital. This marks the end of the heatwave conditions across the country.
IMD scientist Soma Sen said, "Monsoon has advanced today. Safdarjung observatory recorded the highest rainfall of 228 mm in Delhi between 2.30 am and 5.30 am and the rest of the observatories reported heavy rainfall. Heavy rainfall will continue over north India. In northern India, for the next 2-3 days there is a possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall, especially in Uttar Pradesh. For Delhi also, we have issued a heavy rain warning for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."
The IMD reported that the monsoon has advanced into parts of the North Arabian Sea, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, East Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, and some parts of Punjab.
"Southwest Monsoon has further advanced into more parts of West Rajasthan, the remaining parts of East Rajasthan, some parts of Haryana, the entire Delhi, more parts of West Uttar Pradesh, the remaining parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and more parts of East Uttar Pradesh," the IMD stated.
The IMD also predicted favourable conditions for the monsoon to advance further into more parts of Rajasthan, the remaining parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, more parts of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, and the remaining parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu in the next two to three days.
Additionally, the IMD has forecast widespread light-to-moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning over northwest and east India for the next five days.
Earlier in the day, heavy rainfall in Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) led to severe waterlogging. Notably, the Minto Bridge, a known trouble spot for waterlogging during heavy rains, was inundated. This incident occurred nearly a year after the Public Works Department (PWD) had removed it from its list of waterlogging hotspots in the city.
Heavy rain breaks 88-year-old record
The IMD data says that Delhi received 228 mm of rainfall from 8.30 am yesterday to 8.30 am today, marking the highest 24-hour rainfall in June since 1936, when 235.5 mm of rain was recorded.
(With inputs from agencies)
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