With only 26.8 mm of rainfall between 1 and 9 July, Delhi received only 46% of expected rain

New Delhi:  The national capital may have to wait longer for heavy monsoon showers as the weather department has predicted only very light precipitation during the next two to three days. On Wednesday, very light rain or thundershowers are expected in Delhi towards the afternoon, a meteorological department official said. [caption id=“attachment_1314981” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The monsoon arrived late in Delhi. File image of Connaught place. Reuters[/caption] Since the onset of monsoon on 5 July, the Safdarjung observatory, which provides official figures for the city, has recorded 25.4 mm of rainfall. The observatory received 0.4 mm of rains in the last 24 hours, ending at 8:30 am. Overall, the weather station has gauged 26.8 millimetres of rains from 1 July  to 9 July — only 1.4 millimetres of precipitation occurred in first five days of the month, meaning Delhi received 46 percent less rainfall during the period. Normally, it records 49.9 millimetres  of rainfall in the first nine days of July, according to officials. One of the primary reasons behind scant rainfall is the delayed onset of monsoon in the region, they said. The IMD on 5 July had declared the onset of monsoon over the national capital. Normally, the wind system reaches the city by 29 June. A senior scientist at the IMD said though cloudy conditions will prevail in Delhi, not much rainfall is expected in the next two to three days. At 8.30 am on Wednesday, the city recorded a low of 28.2 degrees Celsius, a notch more than normal, and humidity levels at 80 percent. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at 36 degrees Celsius.