No rains likely in Delhi-NCR before July 15

New Delhi : Despite the cloud cover over Delhi-NCR, the much awaited monsoon rains are unlikely for at least another three days. The dry spell is likely to continue without any significant precipitation in the region, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. According to IMD, light rainfall was expected in Delhi-NCR on the night of July 15.

"The dry conditions will prevail over the next three days. There will be dust in the air and light rainfall is expected only on July 15 and thereafter," IMD's regional weather forecasting chief Kuldeep Srivastava told IANS.

Private weather forecasting agency Skymet echoed the IMD, saying there was unlikely to be any significant weather activity over the next three days. According to Skymet, the seasonal trough has shifted towards the Himalaya foothills and heavy rains were expected in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and the northern districts of Uttar Pradesh.

"From July 15, this trough will start travelling south with rains across Delhi-NCR and other parts of Haryana and Punjab. The intensity of rainfall is expected to increase between July 17 and 19," Skymet chief Mahesh Palawat told IANS.

As per an IMD bulletin released on Friday, the northern limit of the monsoon continues to pass through Barmer, Jodhpur and Churu in Rajasthan and Ludhiana and Kapurthala in Punjab. A low pressure area was also persisting over northeast Uttar Pradesh and adjoining Bihar with the associated cyclonic circulation extending up to 7.6 km above mean sea level.

The IMD recorded heavy rainfall on Thursday at isolated places over Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, Konkan and Goa, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.