The southwest monsoon has officially arrived in Delhi, bringing much-needed relief from the intense summer heat after days of high temperatures. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed the arrival of the monsoon after several parts of the national capital and adjoining regions received rainfall on Thursday morning.

It led to a cooling effect in the weather with a marked reduction in the temperature levels after a period of very warm and humid weather. It rained lightly in many areas of the city with cloudy and cool weather prevailing. It was a much-needed respite from the extremely hot weather prevailing in the capital for several weeks.

The IMD predicts that cloudy weather will persist through the day and there will be light to moderate rains in many parts of Delhi. Weather officials have also predicted rainfall along with thunderstorms and strong winds in some isolated places for the next couple of days. Such weather conditions are expected to keep temperatures lower than usual.

Southwest Monsoon is considered to be one of the major climatic phenomena of India that provides almost 70 percent of the total annual rainfall of India. Besides its cooling effect, Southwest Monsoon is responsible for replenishing reservoirs, rivers and underground water, and plays an important role in agricultural production in India.

Monsoon is also expected to bring cleaner air in Delhi due to the presence of fewer dust and pollutant particles in the air due to rainfalls. Yet, warnings from civic bodies have indicated that rain showers in areas that lie low will cause waterlogging in the area and disrupt transportation.

Authorities have advised residents that they should be careful while travelling during heavy rainfall and avoid wet or flooded roads along with stay updated with weather forecasts from the IMD. The emergency services and other civic bodies have been instructed to be prepared for any rainfall-related incident.

Meteorologists believe that the monsoon which would arrive in time over north India would improve agricultural activities of its neighbouring regions by improving soil moisture and cultivation of the crops like rice, maize, and pulses. Adequate rainfall during the monsoon season is expected to improve the availability of water.

Now that the monsoon has arrived in the national capital, Delhi is all set for a major change of seasons, which would bring an end to one of the hottest phases of the year.