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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, June 29: In keeping with the first of the several statements made by the Met Department about the monsoon, the city received 20 millimeters of rain today. The mercury dropped by six degrees to 32 degree Celsius.
The Met department had initially stated that the monsoon was expected in Delhi on June 29. The Met Department had then stated that the monsoon arrived in the city on June 16, the earliest onset in 97 years. They have since stuck to that statement and claim that the showers today are just a revival of the monsoon that went into a 8220;weak phase8221; a day after it arrived. A claim that had been greeted by Delhiites with some scepticism.
Residents, however, finally heaved a sigh of relief today after the rains finally returned to the city, breaking a fortnight of heat and humidity. The Met Department had made two forecasts in the last week and the rains descended three days after their last prediction on Friday.
8220;We were expecting the weak period to end a little earlier,8221; says S.C. Gupta, director of Delhi Met Department. 8220;It is just a coincidence that there has been a good downpour on the previous expected day of arrival of the monsoons. The rains are expected to continue for another 24 hours.8221;
The monsoon circulation is presently over South-East Rajasthan and is expected to move towards Delhi. Presently, the circulation is affecting areas in western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir.
Explaining the rise in temperatures after the 8220;onset of monsoons8221; on June 16, Met department officials say that it was because of the dry Easterly winds blowing across the region. Low moisture content in the Easterlies resulted in no rains and subsequently the weak period.
