Delhi witnessed moderate rainfall with thunderstorms in the early hours of saturday (File)
A spell of early-morning rain brought respite from sweltering weather in the national capital and neighbouring areas on Saturday with the weatherman predicting intermittent showers till the onset of the monsoon in the city around June 24-25.
These rains are a result of a trough extending from Pakistan to Assam, crossing over north Rajasthan and southern Uttar Pradesh, said Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the regional forecasting centre of the India Meteorological Department.
A western disturbance is also active over north Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
The precipitation brought the mercury below 40 degrees Celsius in most parts of the city.
The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded a maximum of 38.1 degrees Celsius, which is normal for this time of the year.
Humidity levels oscillated between 56 and 96 per cent.
The maximum temperature will hover around 35 degrees Celsius for the next four-five days, Mr Srivastava said.
Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather, a private weather forecasting service, said the rains will continue on and off till the onset of the monsoon.
This means the national capital is likely to witness light showers in morning and towards evening for a few days, he said.
According to weather experts, the monsoon is likely to arrive two-three days earlier than its usual date of June 27 in Delhi because of a cyclonic circulation over West Bengal and the neighbourhood which moved towards southwest Uttar Pradesh on June 19 and June 20.
"It helped in further advancement of the monsoon, which has reached eastern Uttar Pradesh and central Madhya Pradesh. It is expected to reach west Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Uttarakhand by June 22," Mr Srivastava said.
It will make an onset in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab within the next two-three days, he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)