Cancel your weekend plans. It is going to rain

If you stay in Delhi or any of its neighbouring states, the rain is likely to play spoiler with your weekend plans.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate widespread rainfall over Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and northwest Rajasthan on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and isolated heavy rain in some areas as well. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are also expected to get rain from Saturday onwards.

Delhi too is not likely to get respite anytime soon, despite the waterlogging and traffic jams caused by this week’s spell of rain, with the weather department predicting light to moderate rainfall in parts of the Capital.

Total rainfall in 24 hours from August 31 to September 1 in Delhi’s Safdarjung was recorded at 112.1 mm, in Palam at 71.1 mm, Lodi road at 120.2 mm and in Ayanagar at 68.2 mm, the IMD said.

While Delhi is facing a downpour since Tuesday and Himachal Pradesh has made news for the landslides caused by the rain, India has so far received deficit rainfall in August – a shortfall of 24 per cent – against the predictions of a “normal monsoon” by the Met department.

Also read: Floods, landslides play havoc in parts of Karnataka

Meteorologists are of the view that good rain in September won’t be able to make up for the August shortfall, and India’s monsoon this year may well remain “below normal”, which is defined as rain being 90-96 per cent of the long period average of 88 cm.

Some in the IMD blame global warming for the deficit, pointing to the long spells of dry weather, as it was in mid-August in Delhi, and the sudden subsequent days of downpour.

The weather has frequently ruined the IMD’s predictions this year, as in June, when the department had forecast “normal” rain for northwest, south, east and central India. It later turned out that the northwest and central regions posted a 14 per cent deficit.

Also read: MP rains: IMD issues yellow alert for 5 districts, state likely to face third wet spell in Aug

On Wednesday, as the Met released its forecast for September, it said the all-India rainfall for the month will remain over 110 per cent of the LPA, which for September is 170 mm. It expects the June-September period to end on the lower end of normal, of around 96 per cent.

“Considering the expected above normal rainfall activity during September, the current deficiency of 9 per cent in seasonal rainfall during June to August is very likely to reduce and accumulated seasonal rainfall from June 1 to September 30 is very likely to be around the lower end of the normal,” IMD chief M Mohapatra told the media.