In a First Since 2011, No Heatwave Recorded in Delhi This Summer

Delhi’s main weather station, Safdarjung Observatory, has not seen any heatwave this summer. In fact, it is expected that there will be no heat wave until the end of June.

This is unusual because since 2011, the observatory has always recorded at least one heatwave in the summer, according to data from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

The Safdarjung Observatory has not recorded any heatwave this summer so far. Also, there will be no heat wave in the next seven days. Since 2011, this is the first summer without a heat wave in Delhi, said Kuldeep Srivastava, Head of Regional Prediction Center at IMD.

Meteorologists attribute the absence of heatwave days to excess precipitation due to higher-than-normal westerly disturbances – weather systems that originate in the Mediterranean region and bring unseasonal rains to northwest India – this summer season (March to June).

According to IMD data, Delhi recorded 111 mm of precipitation in May, 262 percent more than the long-term average of 30.7 mm and the fourth highest in the month since the Met Office began keeping records.

The city recorded more than 20mm of precipitation in April, the highest in a month since 2017, and heatwave conditions in isolated pockets.

The Meteorological Department predicted intermittent rain over the next six to seven days, with a peak between June 25 and June 27.

Maximum temperatures are expected to hover around the 35°C mark during this period.

Although IMD’s expanded model guidance shows an uptick in rainfall over northwest India in the last week of June, the Met’s office has not yet announced when the monsoon will arrive in Delhi.

Normally, the rain bearing system reaches the capital city by June 27.

However, Mahesh Palawatt, a meteorologist at private weather forecasting agency Skymet Weather, said the monsoon could reach Delhi on June 28-29.

IMD on Friday said the monsoon has advanced further over some other parts of Karnataka, Telangana, remaining parts of Andhra Pradesh, some parts of Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, remaining parts of Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, some other parts of Jharkhand, Bihar and some parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The southwest monsoon flow has strengthened over the Indian subcontinent and the rain bearing system may cover some other parts of Chhattisgarh, remaining parts of Jharkhand, Bihar, some parts of eastern Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Uttarakhand during the next two days, he said.

“There is a cyclonic circulation located over the northwest Bay of Bengal, extending up to the middle troposphere levels. An east-west basin extends from northern Punjab to the cyclonic circulation above, extending up to the lower troposphere levels. These systems will help the progress of the monsoon,” an official said.

“Conditions have also become favorable for further advance of the southwest monsoon over some other parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana over the next three to four days,” the Meteorological Department said.

(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)