Mercury rises marginally; monsoon may take a week longer to reach Delhi

Temperatures rose marginally in some parts of the national capital on Thursday due to prevailing dry conditions and rain activity due to a fresh western disturbance is likely next week, officials said.

Private forecaster Skymet Weather said the monsoon may take at least a week longer to reach the city. Normally, the wind system reaches the national capital by June 29. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides official figures for the city, recorded a high of 38.8 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year, and a low of 25.4 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal.

Humidity levels oscillated between 34 and 79 per cent. The weather stations at Palam, Jafarpur and Ayanagar recorded the maximum temperature at 41.2, 39.9 and 39.4 degrees Celsius respectively, data from the Meteorological Department showed.

The weatherman predicted a partly cloudy sky on Friday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 40 and 26 degrees Celsius respectively. Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather said a fresh western disturbance over Jammu and Kashmir may lead to light rainfall and thunderstorm in the national capital and nearby areas on June 24 and 25 which may cause the mercury to drop by two-three degrees.