New Delhi, Oct 1 — The weather in the national capital has turned quite dry, with bright sunshine keeping daytime temperatures warm. However, a slight drop in night temperatures is likely. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted clear skies throughout the coming week, with no possibility of rain in Delhi.
Bright sunshine was observed across most parts of Delhi from Wednesday morning. However, with northwesterly winds prevailing over the region, the weather has become increasingly dry.
The maximum temperature at Delhi's standard observatory at Safdarjung was recorded at 34.2 degrees Celsius, which was 0.5 degrees below normal. The minimum temperature was recorded at 22.4 degrees Celsius.
The IMD has said that the southwest monsoon season had ended with a 13 per cent rainfall deficit.
However, monsoon rains continue to withdraw from different parts of the country. As the monsoon retreats, parts of southern and northeastern India are expected to receive rainfall on Thursday, according to the IMD.
Heavy rainfall is very likely at isolated places over Kerala, South Interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal.
In IMD's terminology, 'isolated' refers to rainfall occurring over a small proportion of locations, generally up to 25 per cent of weather stations in a region.
Meanwhile, Kerala, coastal Karnataka and the southern parts of Karnataka are expected to receive rainfall at several places on Thursday. Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Lakshadweep are likely to receive rain at a few places.
Karnataka has already experienced a wet spell during the 24 hours ending at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Kibbanahalli in Tumakuru district recorded 10 cm of rainfall, the highest recorded by the IMD during the period.
Thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph are very likely at isolated places over Kerala and Mahe, Rayalaseema, and Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal.
Winds of 30-40 kmph are expected over Andhra Pradesh, Interior Karnataka and Odisha, while strong surface winds may also prevail over parts of Andhra Pradesh.
In the Northeast, thunderstorms and lightning are likely over Assam and Meghalaya, as well as Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. Similar conditions are also expected over East Madhya Pradesh.
Scattered rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
The southwest monsoon normally begins withdrawing from northwest India in mid-September and completely retreats from the country by mid-October.
This year, the withdrawal line currently passes through Gurdaspur (Punjab), Chandigarh, Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh), Aligarh (UP), Dholpur, Udaipur and Deesa (Rajasthan) before extending to Naliya in Gujarat.
The IMD said conditions are likely to become favourable over the next two to three days for the withdrawal of the monsoon from the remaining parts of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Similar conditions are expected to develop over most parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, as well as the entirety of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Some parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra may also witness further withdrawal.
Meanwhile, Delhi's air quality remained in the moderate category, with several monitoring stations recording elevated pollution levels.
The AQI readings included Mandir Marg (150), Aya Nagar (135), CRRI Mathura Road (198), Pusa (22), Sirifort (171), IGI Airport T3 (155), Commonwealth Sports Complex (179), IIT Delhi (249), Anand Vihar (98), Najafgarh (144), Jahangirpuri (207), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (173), Sonia Vihar (151), Cantonment Area (106) and Narela (189).