Continuous overnight rains drench Delhi, more likely

A spell of continuous rain drenched Delhi on Thursday, inundating parts of the city, and more is in store, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

According to the IMD, the Palam observatory recorded 86 mm rainfall till 5:30 am and the Safdarjung weather station gauged 42.4 mm rainfall.

Rainfall recorded below 15 mm is considered light, between 15 and 64.5 mm is moderate and above 64.5 mm is heavy, according to the IMD.

The heavy rains are also expected to bring down the rain deficiency in the national capital.

Till Wednesday evening, the city had recorded 72 per cent less rainfall than normal in August so far, the lowest in 10 years, according to the IMD.

Overall, Delhi has recorded 35 per cent less rains in the monsoon season so far.

Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre, said the city witnessed "continuous rains overnight" and more rainfall is expected during the day.

"The axis of monsoon remains close to Delhi-NCR. Also, there is a cyclonic circulation over southwest Uttar Pradesh. Southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea and easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal also fed moisture," he said.

Light rains will continue over the next two to three days, Srivastava said.

Earlier, the IMD had predicted one or two spells of heavy rains between Tuesday and Thursday.