June 24: City's date with monsoon

The national weather agency predicted that the rainy season is likely to arrive over Delhi on Tuesday, even as the Capital on Friday experienced another pleasant day with overcast skies and light showers keeping temperatures at a tolerable level.

- Aheli Das

NEW DELHI:

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said conditions were favourable for the onset of monsoon in Delhi on June 24—three days ahead of the usual date of June 27.

If the forecast holds, this will be the earliest arrival of monsoon in Delhi since 2013, when it reached the city on June 16. Last year, the monsoon arrived on June 28, while in 2023, it reached the city on June 25.

IMD has issued a yellow alert for the weekend, predicting spells of rain, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds over the next two days. The cloudy skies and occasional rain are expected to persist, offering respite from the heat that gripped the city earlier this month.

"Southwest monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of Bihar and east Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, parts of west Uttar Pradesh, most parts of Uttarakhand, many parts of Himachal Pradesh and some parts of Ladakh," IMD said.