Residents of Delhi should brace for heavy showers and thunderstorms for the rest of May, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.
The final week of the "wettest May ever" is likely to be rainy, IMD said in its weekly weather forecast. Cloudy skies are likely to persist over the national capital throughout the week with the possibility of thunder and lightning, it said. Strong winds ranging from 30 to 50 km/h are also expected, the weather department said, warning that gusts could occasionally reach up to 60 km/h.
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Amidst the rainfall, the minimum temperature is likely to fluctuate between 25 to 27 degrees Celsius, while the maximum may range between 33 to 37 degrees Celsius, news agency PTI said quoting the forecast.
The unusually intense storm was the result of an interaction between moist southeasterly winds and dry westerlies, intensified by three weather systems: a western disturbance over north Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir and two upper air cyclonic circulations- one over northwest Uttar Pradesh and north Haryana, and the other over west Rajasthan.
On Sunday, Delhi witnessed heavy rainfall, the IMD said. It was the second-highest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded in the city in May, following the 119.3 mm logged on May 20, 2021.
The recent spell of unseasonal and intense rainfall, making this the wettest May on record, reflects the increasing variability in India's pre-monsoon weather patterns.
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While localised systems like western disturbances have contributed, the larger trend points to a warming atmosphere that holds more moisture and disrupts established seasonal rhythms, Vishwas Chitale, Senior Programme Lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said.
VIDEO | Delhi rains: The road leading Terminal 3 of IGI Airport is still waterlogged causing inconvenience to travellers. #Delhi #DelhiWeather #Delhirains pic.twitter.com/01O0Q018Dv
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 25, 2025
In 2024, Delhi witnessed extreme rainfall in late June following a prolonged period of intense heat.
Chitale further noted that this year, the monsoon has arrived a week earlier than expected in Kerala and is projected to reach Delhi around its usual time.
However, he cautioned that such extremes- in both heat and rainfall- serve as a reminder that monsoon arrival alone no longer defines climate preparedness.
