India: Monsoonal rain to increase in New Delhi this week
After a brief break from monsoon rainfall in New Delhi during the past week, more widespread rain is expected to return later this week.
Following a long dry season of record-breaking, stifling heat, the return of daily rainfall to northern India has been welcomed by many.
When the first round of drenching rain impacted New Delhi on June 28, it helped to limit that day’s high temperature to 35 C (95 F), down from 42 C (107 F) the previous afternoon.
Temperatures have been held below 38 C (100 F) each day since those initial downpours, even though the monsoon did not officially arrive until July 2.
Overall, the monsoon is off to a slightly above-average start throughout the country as a whole.
“Despite ongoing droughts in Tamil Nadu and sizable deficits in parts of northeast India, the monsoon is actually 6 percent above normal across India as a whole,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls.
Despite the monsoon season being underway in New Delhi and the rest of northwestern India, rainfall has been limited to scattered showers and thunderstorms on most days since the start of July.
“Any rain through Sunday in northwestern India will be spotty and will not bring significant rainfall to the region,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Douty.
A much more noticeable increase in rainfall is expected later this week as a major shift in the weather pattern unfolds.
“A monsoon low is expected to track westward across northern India,” said Douty.
“This will pull moisture from the Bay of Bengal across northern India, bringing more widespread and locally heavy rainfall to northwestern portions of the country into the middle of July,” he said.
Monsoon lows such as this can lead to daily rainfall amounts in excess of 100 mm (4 inches).
While flooding will be a concern, the rainfall will be largely beneficial. Rounds of heavy rainfall may continue across northern India through the end of July.
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