Monsoon arrives in Delhi two days behind schedule

New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) The national capital welcomed the monsoon on Sunday, as the southwest monsoon finally advanced over Delhi, arriving two days later than its normal onset date of June 27. Many areas in the city reported waterlogging and traffic congestion.
     The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also announced that the monsoon has now covered the entire country—nine days ahead of the typical timeline of July 8.
     With a cloudy sky and intermittent monsoon showers continuing till 5.30 pm, IMD data showed that the city’s primary weather station at Safdarjung recorded 4.8 mm of rainfall. Other weather stations reported: Lodhi Road – 5.3 mm, Palam – 10.2 mm, and Aya Nagar – 9.9 mm till 5.30 pm.
     Rainfall led to traffic disruptions at multiple points across the capital. "Traffic was affected near India Gate, ITO, Old Rohtak Road, Peeragarhi Chowk, Shankar Road, Madhuban Chowk, near Sarai Rohilla Railway Station, and many other areas due to the rain. We have deployed additional personnel to resolve the traffic issues at the earliest," a Delhi Traffic Police official said.
     Another officer said congestion was also reported in parts of South, Southeast, and Southwest Delhi, including a traffic jam along the Delhi-Gurugram highway (NH-8).
     Meanwhile, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said it had received only two minor complaints of waterlogging in its area. "Apart from these, there have been no complaints of incidents like tree falls in Lutyens’ Delhi," an NDMC official added.
     However, PWD areas reported multiple complaints of waterlogging.
     "Around 10-12 complaints of waterlogging were received in PWD areas. Most of them were resolved soon by the response teams, and traffic was not affected much," a PWD official said.
     The department revised the weather alert multiple times during the day—initially issuing a yellow alert, which was later upgraded to an orange alert.
     According to the IMD, an orange alert signifies "be prepared".
     In a statement issued on Sunday, the IMD said, "The Southwest Monsoon has further advanced into the remaining parts of Rajasthan, west Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana, and has covered the entire Delhi region on June 29. Thus, the monsoon has now covered the entire country, ahead of its usual schedule."
     This marks the earliest nationwide monsoon coverage since 2020, when the entire country came under its influence by June 26. Similar early progress was observed in 2015 and 2013, when the monsoon enveloped India by June 26 and June 16, respectively.
     While Delhi received patchy rainfall on Saturday—mainly over its southern, eastern, and southwestern parts—its base station at Safdarjung recorded only a trace.
     In contrast, western Uttar Pradesh, including areas such as Noida and Ghaziabad, witnessed short but intense spells of rain, while parts of Gurugram were also lashed by showers.
     The maximum temperature in the city was recorded at 32.8 degrees Celsius, 4.4 notches below the season’s average, according to the IMD.
     A yellow alert has been issued for Monday, with the department forecasting a generally cloudy sky and rain.
     The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to settle around 32 and 26 degrees Celsius, respectively.
     Meanwhile, the city's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded in the ‘satisfactory’ category at 83, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
     An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)