The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said the monsoon arrived in Delhi on Thursday, five days behind schedule (June 27), forecasting rain and thunderstorms until Friday and possibly over the next five days. The minimum temperature dropped to 22.8 degrees Celsius compared to 28.6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday with the onset of monsoon. The minimum normal temperature from June 30 to July 4 is 27.9°C.
According to IMD data since 1960, there have been 33 monsoon onsets in both June and July up to 2025. The first arrival of monsoon was on June 9, 1961. The last delay was in 1987 when the monsoon reached Delhi on July 27.
Rain fell in Delhi on Wednesday night and in the early hours of Thursday morning. Chattarupur recorded 17.5 mm of rainfall between 11:30 pm (Wednesday) and 8:30 am (Thursday), followed by Ayanagar (5 mm), Safdarjung (4.6 mm), Lodhi Road (4.1 mm), Mayur Vihar and Janakpuri (3.5 mm), Ridge (3 mm), Palam (1.9 mm), and Javarpur (1 mm).
The IMD classifies rainfall up to 15.5 mm as light, between 15.6 mm and 64.4 mm as moderate, between 64.5 mm and 115.5 mm as heavy, and between 115.6 and 204.4 as very heavy.
The IMD issued a red alert, the highest level of weather warning, for rainfall at 6:45 am on Thursday. It was updated to orange alert at 8:15 am as the IMD forecast very light rain, drizzle, thunderstorms and winds of 30-40 kmph during the next two hours.
The Meteorological Department expected moderate rain in isolated places, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds, during the afternoon and until night next week.
Amateur meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya said the monsoon had covered Delhi, parts of central Haryana, Punjab and parts of eastern Rajasthan until Thursday morning. He cited satellite images and said they indicated good cloud cover over the area with rain falling since Wednesday night. “The rain will subside from noon onwards and will return after midnight,” the suburb wrote on X’s website.
One or two spells of light to light rain and thunderstorms are expected on Friday. The maximum temperature is expected to range between 30 and 32 degrees Celsius, compared to the normal temperature of 37.4 degrees Celsius.
The IMD and private meteorologists on Wednesday indicated that the monsoon may advance to the capital before the weekend. In a bulletin on Wednesday evening, the IMD said conditions are favorable for the monsoon to continue to advance over the next two days, including Delhi. Meteorologists said that conditions are already favorable for the arrival of monsoon winds in the capital on Thursday or Friday evening.
