Monsoon likely to reach Delhi by June 22-23, ahead of schedule: IMD

The monsoon in the national capital is likely to reach by June 22-23, ahead of its schedule, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday. Earlier monsoon was scheduled to hit Delhi around June 27, as per IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava.

According to the IMD, the pace of monsoon is slow. However, it has already reached in most parts of the country and it will now arrive in Delhi-NCR.

The Delhi-NCR region will soon get relief from the scorching heat. The national capital sweltered under the stifling heat with the mercury crossing the 46 degrees Celsius-mark in some parts on Thursday, according to news agency PTI. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded a maximum of 42.5 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal.

At 46.4 degrees Celsius, the weather stations at Ayanagar recorded the maximum temperature in the city. The Pusa Observatory recorded a high of 45.1 degrees Celsius.

Humidity levels oscillated between 38 and 81 per cent in the city. The MeT department has predicted a partly cloudy sky on Friday.

Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the regional forecasting centre of the IMD, said a cyclonic circulation over West Bengal and the neighborhood will move towards southwest Uttar Pradesh by June 19 and June 20. "It will help in further advancement of the monsoon in western Uttar Pradesh, some parts of Uttarakhand, northeast Rajasthan and eastern Haryana between June 22 and June 24," he said.