Rain in parts of Delhi due to Cyclone Biparjoy

New Delhi: Delhi on Friday received a fresh spell of rain under the influence of Cyclone Biparjoy and a western disturbance active over the northwest Himalayan region, the weather office said. After churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days, Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday. During the past 24 hours, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 27.9 degrees Celsius on Friday, while the maximum is likely to settle around 38 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded in the ‘moderate’ category at 108 at 5 pm, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the IMD’s regional forecasting centre, said Delhi witnessed light rainfall under the influence of the cyclone, a fresh western disturbance and moisture-laden southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea which will reach the capital after crossing Rajasthan and south Haryana.

“The rise in maximum temperature in the past few days along with moist southwesterly winds and the western disturbance will lead to rain activity in northwest India,” Srivastava said. The IMD had last month predicted normal to below normal monsoon in northwest India, which could mean drier and hotter days in Delhi going ahead. Normal to above-normal maximum temperatures are usually recorded across most parts of the country in June, except for the extreme north and some parts of the southern peninsular region, it said.

The monsoon hit the Indian mainland on June 8, with the IMD declaring onset over Kerala a week after the usual date of June 1. The IMD had earlier predicted a delay of four days in the monsoon onset over Kerala. However, Cyclone Biparjoy in the Arabian Sea delayed it further. Research shows a delay in the monsoon onset over Kerala (MOK) does not necessarily mean a delay in the monsoon onset over northwest India. The rain-bearing system usually reaches Delhi by June 27.