Monsoon arrives in Delhi ahead of schedule

NEW DELHI: Monsoon arrived in the capital today, 13 days ahead of schedule bringing relief from scorching heat but commuters were at the receiving end due to water-logging in various places.

"The monsoon has reached Delhi," the MeT office said, adding that the seasonal rains lashed the capital almost two weeks ahead of its scheduled arrival on June 29.

Last year, the onset of monsoon was delayed by eight days. It had reached Delhi ahead of schedule in 2011 (June 26), but arrived late in 2010 (July five).

While the earliest onset of monsoon in last 30 years in the capital was recorded in 2008 (June 15), the most delayed arrival occurred in 1987 (July 26).

The weather office said 645.7 mm of rains is considered as normal for the capital during monsoon.

It said monsoon was making rapid progress and will cover the entire country before the scheduled date of July 15.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the country will receive 101 per cent of the long-term average rainfall in July and 96 per cent in August. For the country as a whole, monsoon has recorded an excess of 28 per cent since its onset over Kerala on June 1.

Sudden rains in Delhi led to water-logging and traffic snarls in areas like Laxmi Nagar, ITO and Kashmere Gate.