The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has upgraded the weather warning for Delhi to orange on Friday, citing the possibility of rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds of up to 70 km/hr. “People must be cautious and ready for possibly disruptive weather,” the IMD warned.
An orange alert, the second-highest in IMD’s alert system, suggests the likelihood of sizeable impact and disruption due to harsh weather conditions.
Rainfall and Weather Outlook
Though there was no alert issued on Thursday morning, the IMD forecasted light to moderate rain. “There can be some very light to light rain chances now. On Thursday, that kind of rain activity will continue, and the intensity is still higher on Friday,” an IMD official stated.
Delhi has already seen a record 186.4 mm of rainfall in May, the most ever recorded for the month. The last record was in May 2008 at 165 mm. To put that in context, the May average rainfall for Delhi is only 30.7 mm.
Earlier during the week, the city witnessed light showers on Monday, while heavy rain with thunderstorms on Sunday resulted in problems, ranging from waterlogging to power cuts, flight delays, and fumigated trees. These occurrences have led the capital’s readiedness for the approaching monsoon season into fresh question.
While Delhi is already under an orange alert, surrounding regions such as Gurgaon and Faridabad are not. Based on the IMD, Ghaziabad and Noida can expect light rain and thunderstorm on Friday but have no colour-coded alerts in their respective cities.
Monsoon Advances Ahead of Time
The southwest monsoon is progressing ahead of schedule this year. It usually reaches Delhi by June 27, but the IMD has yet to announce an arrival date for the capital. “We are keeping a close watch on the progress,” an IMD official stated.
The monsoon arrived early over Kerala on May 24, a week earlier than its usual date of June 1. Mumbai too experienced an early monsoon arrival on May 26, far earlier than its usual date of June 11.
May has been especially severe for Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), with five major storms so far. These storms have resulted in at least 12 deaths, resulting from accidents such as collapses of houses, electrocution, and toppling of trees.
