By IANS
New Delhi : The sky may look cloudy, but monsoon is set to miss its date with Delhi by at least three days.
"Monsoon may not hit Delhi on its usual date of June 29. We are expecting it to reach the national capital by July 2 or 3," said R.C. Bhatia, director general of India Meteorological Department (IMD).
"However, Delhi will experience pre-monsoon showers by the middle of this week. We are sure there will be good rainfall once monsoon hits Delhi," Bhatia told IANS.
He said between June 1 and June 25, the capital received 122 mm of rainfall as against the normal quota of 36.3 mm.
"This is an indication that the city is going to get good rain in the coming days. A low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal has shown indications of its concentration and its progress will be key to rain in Delhi," he explained.
In 2006, monsoon had arrived in Delhi July 9.
Delhi, meanwhile, continued to experience cloudy weather Monday bringing down the day temperatures. However, the overcast sky increased both the minimum temperature and humidity.
Delhi witnessed a minimum temperature of 29.5 degree Celsius Monday, one degree above normal and maximum of 39 degrees. Weathermen said the maximum temperature will drop Tuesday.
Meanwhile, southwest monsoon has further advanced into most parts of Saurashtra and Kutch, some parts of Gujarat, the remaining parts of central Maharashtra and Marathawada, some more parts of Vidarbha, Orissa and Jharkhand.
IMD officials said a fresh low-pressure area was forming over the northwest Bay of Bengal. Under its influence Orissa, north Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh may have widespread rainfall to isolated extremely heavy rainfall from Tuesday.
Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely over Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand, the weathermen added.