Monsoon covers North India; Delhi braces for week-long rainfall as IMD issues alerts

New Delhi: The southwest monsoon has now spread across Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and the rest of North India, although the national Capital is still waiting for widespread heavy showers. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi-NCR is expected to witness cloudy skies along with intermittent rainfall throughout the coming week, with wet weather likely to continue until July 9.

The expected showers are likely to provide relief from the prevailing heat and lead to a noticeable drop in daytime temperatures.

The IMD has issued rain alerts for Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh between July 6 and July 8. Similar weather conditions are forecast across parts of Uttar Pradesh over the next several days. In western Uttar Pradesh, including Noida and Ghaziabad, rainfall is likely on July 8 and 9, while eastern districts are expected to receive showers from July 7 to July 9.

Rajasthan is also expected to remain under the influence of active monsoon conditions. Eastern Rajasthan is likely to receive heavy rainfall through July 9, while western Rajasthan may witness intense showers accompanied by thunderstorms during the same period.

Across Uttar Pradesh, monsoon activity has intensified in several regions. Continuous rainfall has been reported from parts of the Awadh belt, including Lucknow, Kanpur and Unnao, while Barabanki, Etawah and Bahraich have also received steady showers over the past two days.

In the Purvanchal region, districts such as Gorakhpur, Basti, Varanasi, Azamgarh and Jaunpur remain under a rain alert until July 7. Western districts including Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahr, Hapur, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad are also expected to experience monsoon showers through July 9.

The IMD said the southwest monsoon has advanced further into additional parts of Gujarat, the remaining areas of Madhya Pradesh, and more regions of Rajasthan and Haryana. The progress of the monsoon has been aided by the formation of a low-pressure area over the northwest Bay of Bengal, creating favourable conditions for its continued advancement. Weather officials expect the monsoon to remain active across large parts of the country over the next four to five days.

Heavy rainfall is forecast over Gujarat, Konkan, central Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh between July 3 and July 6. In the Himalayan region, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are expected to receive widespread rainfall through July 9, with Himachal Pradesh likely to witness particularly active monsoon conditions from July 5 onwards. Uttarakhand also remains under a multi-day rain alert.

Central India is likely to witness intense rainfall in Chhattisgarh, eastern and western Madhya Pradesh, and the Vidarbha region over the coming days. Thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds reaching speeds of up to 50 kmph are also likely in several areas.

Meanwhile, weather data show that June 2026 was the fifth-driest June in India since 1901, recording rainfall nearly 39 per cent below the long-term average. Delhi’s Safdarjung observatory registered only 41.8 mm of rainfall during the month, significantly lower than its normal June average of 74.1 mm.

IANS