A sharp drop in temperature brought much-needed respite to residents of Delhi-NCR on Monday as rain relief continued in the region. The Southwest Monsoon officially arrived in the Capital on Sunday, two days behind its normal onset date of June 27, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). On Monday, the maximum temperature in the city dipped sharply to 30.6°C, six degrees below normal for this time of year. The minimum temperature was recorded at 24°C, about five degrees below the normal, IMD officials said. On Sunday, the maximum temperature settled at 32.8 degrees, 4.4 degrees below normal after the city experienced hot and humid weather last week. A yellow alert had been issued earlier for lightning and thunderstorms, but no further alerts have been forecast for the coming week. The IMD has predicted generally cloudy skies with very light to light rain and thunderstorms throughout the week. The minimum temperature is expected to drop to around 24°C, while the maximum is likely to hover near 31°C. Among all the IMD stations in Delhi, Ayanagar recorded the highest rainfall at 20 mm on Monday. Palam received 14.4 mm of rain, while Najafgarh recorded 4 mm. SPS Mayur Vihar, Ridge, and Narela each reported 1 mm, and trace rainfall was recorded at Lodhi Road. Safdarjung — the city’s base observatory — did not record any rainfall. Among the neighbouring cities, Noida received 2.5 mm, while Gurgaon and Faridabad recorded 1.5 mm and 1 mm of rainfall, respectively, until Monday evening. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) reported isolated cases of waterlogging and trees falling due to the rain. Two tree-felling complaints were received from Pitampura and Dilshad Garden, while waterlogging was reported from Shakarpur.
