New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) The southwest monsoon Wednesday advanced further into northern parts of the country, causing rain in Punjab and Haryana, Met officials said here.
“The monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of Punjab, Haryana and isolated parts of north Rajasthan. Rain and thundershowers are expected at many places over Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Delhi,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

The monsoon reached the national capital Tuesday bringing showers and much-needed respite from the sweltering heat to the residents. The capital recorded 8.3 mm of rainfall till Wednesday morning.

The maximum temperature forecast for Wednesday is 35 degrees Celsius and the minimum will hover around 25 degrees Celsius. High humidity is expected at 81 percent, according to the Met Office.

“There will be cloudy sky with showers and thunderstorms in some parts of Delhi,” the official said.

The official, however, expressed worry over scanty rainfall.

“Normally the rains are strong when they arrive. In June this year, the capital and surrounding areas received just 19 mm of rain while the average is 55 mm,” he said.

The average rainfall recorded in July in the previous years is 225.3 mm.