The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert indicating potentially bad weather for Monday, and forecasting very light to light rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds of 30-40 km per hour, temporarily touching 50 km per hour in Delhi even as parts the city received scattered light rain on Monday morning. Another wet week was likely, it added.

On Sunday, Delhi received 81.4mm of rainfall until 8:30am, taking the monthly rainfall to 186.4mm and making it the wettest May ever as per IMD’s available record since 1901. The previous record for May was 165mm in 2008. The long-period average (LPA) for rainfall in May is 30.7mm, meaning Delhi has recorded six times the rain.

“We can expect on-and-off rain activity to continue this week. Thunderstorms and winds touching up to 50 km per hour are also likely until May 31,” said an IMD official.

On Monday, Safdarjung, which is representative of Delhi’s weather, Lodhi Road, and Ayanagar recorded “trace” rainfall until 8:30am. A minimum temperature of 25.2°C was a degree below normal. It was 19.8°C a day earlier following an early morning thunderstorm.

The maximum temperature was expected to rise marginally, from 31.6°C on Sunday to around 34-36°C on Monday. The Air Quality Index was 97 (satisfactory) at 8am, an improvement from 105 (moderate) at 4pm on Sunday.

The thunderstorm, followed by three hours of heavy rain in Delhi and the National Capital Region, on Sunday disrupted flight operations and led to waterlogging, power cuts, and uprooted trees, signalling inadequate infrastructure and a lack of preparations ahead of monsoon.

Over 400 flights were delayed and 49 diverted to nearby airports as winds gusting at 82 km/hour swept the region on Sunday. A series of intense dust storms and thunderstorms this month left at least 12 people dead due to house collapses, electrocution, and uprooted trees.