Humidity stifles Delhi, Rajasthan; monsoon gains pace in central India

New Delhi: Rajasthan and Delhi today reeled under stifling conditions as did people in Bihar, while the weatherman said monsoon is likely to gain momentum and advance further into central India in the next few days.

Humid conditions caused discomfort to the residents in Delhi that recorded mercury at 39.8 degrees Celsius.

The city had a minimum of 30.1 degrees Celsius and humidity level was recorded between 45 and 72 per cent.

The other three metropolitan cities of Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai recorded their respective maximums at 32.8, 35.2 and 35.8 degrees.

After making a slow progress, the southwest monsoon is expected to gain momentum and advance further into several parts of drought-hit Maharashtra, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Goa, interior Karnataka, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Jharkhand and Bihar, IMD said.

Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, M Rajeevan, said the last week of June is expected to witness some good rainfall.

The weatherman has forecast an "above normal" monsoon this year. However, its onset over Kerala, which marks the commencement of the rainy season in the country, was on June 8, seven days later than predicted.

Residents in Bihar suffered under sultry conditions. Gaya was the hottest place in the state, recording a maximum of 35.8 degrees.

Bhagalpur reeled under humid conditions at 35.4 degrees, while Purnea, which had a high of 35 degrees and 40.1 mm of rainfall, saw humidity level rising to 89 per cent.

The southwest monsoon has further advanced into Odisha and covered the whole of the state, the regional MeT office said.

The monsoon had covered the districts of Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and some parts of the adjoining of Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Khorda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati districts yesterday.

Today, it spread to all 30 districts of the state.