The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday declared the onset of the southwest monsoon over Mumbai and Delhi. “Southwest monsoon has advanced over Mumbai and Delhi today, 25th June 2023,” said the IMD in a statement on Sunday morning, June 25, adding that detailed coverage of the monsoon and its progress will be revealed later in the day.
While the monsoon was delayed by 14 days in Mumbai, it arrived two days early in Delhi. The normal date for monsoon onset (1961-2019) over Mumbai is June 11, and for Delhi, it is June 27. However, this has made it a highly unusual monsoon year where both cities recorded an onset simultaneously.
The last time both cities were hit by monsoon at the same time was on June 21, 1961.
Delhi's current rain record:
Safdarjung, representational of Delhi’s weather, recorded 48.3 mm of rainfall in 24 hours till 8:30 am on Sunday – most of it being recorded in the early hours of the day. Till 8:30 am on Sunday, Delhi recorded 71.4 mm of rainfall.
Rain classification:
The IMD classifies it as ‘very light’ rainfall when it is between ‘trace’ and 2.4mm in 24 hours. ‘Light’ rainfall between 2.5mm and 15.5mm; ‘moderate’ between 15.6mm and 64.4mm and ‘heavy’ rainfall when over 64.4 mm is recorded in a single day.
In terms of air quality, Delhi’s air was recorded in the moderate range. The average air quality index (AQI) stood at 162 (moderate) at 10 am on Sunday – a slight improvement from a reading of 169 (moderate) at 4 pm on Saturday.
IMD weather prediction for monsoon arrival across the country:
The IMD, in its monsoon bulletin on Saturday, June 24 had said that conditions were favourable for further advance of the southwest monsoon over most parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, remaining parts of Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, some more parts of Haryana including Chandigarh and Delhi, some parts of Gujarat, East Rajasthan and Punjab during the next 48 hours.
