Delhi's Unusual Weather Pattern: Wettest May Followed By Scorching June
Delhi’s 2025 weather was unusual: record May rainfall brought cool temperatures and no heatwaves, followed by a severe June heatwave due to a delayed monsoon. The IMD introduced a new forecast system.
Delhi has been witnessing erratic weather patter, from late summers to record heatwaves, delayed monsoon to unusually chilly winters, in the last few years. This year, the seasonal patterns in the nation's capital and the nearby NCR cities of Gurugram, Noida, and Faridabad have completely changed. A rare meteorological collision has occurred as the monsoon arrived early and the usual May peak heat arrived a month later than expected.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), there were no heatwave days in Delhi during the month of May this year. The city gets ready for hot, dry days during this month, when temperatures usually routinely rise above 45°C. Because of the intense pre-monsoon activity, May was generally tolerable. During the pre-monsoon season, Central and East India experienced rainfall excesses of 238% and 149%, respectively, which also assisted in reducing heat in North India.
But this out-of-season comfort didn't last long. The capital was unexpectedly hit by a severe and pervasive heatwave at the start of June. Delhi's Ayanagar station recorded 45.3°C on June 10, which is an astounding 3.2°C higher than average. Gurgaon soared above 42.8°C throughout the NCR, and the IMD issued orange and red alerts for portions of Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh
IMD Scientist Naresh Kumar said that Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, northern Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan are experiencing not only intense daytime heat but also unusually high night-time temperatures.
Experts said the brief halt in the monsoon's northward advance is to blame for this delayed heatwave according to Reuters .The southwest monsoon paused soon after arriving in Maharashtra, although it made landfall over Kerala on May 24, eight days before the typical onset date. Northern India experienced a sharp increase in temperature due to the ensuing dry patch in early June.
According to a report in India today In late May, the IMD introduced the Bharat Forecast System, a sophisticated 6 km resolution model designed to increase forecast accuracy for localised extreme events like heatwaves, floods, and monsoon shifts, in response to the increasing climate uncertainty.
IMD in a forecast said , the monsoon should provide some respite from the current heat wave when it arrives in Delhi and the National Capital Region between June 13 and June 15. Overall, though, it appears that this season is evolving because of a rare combination of high moisture, pre-monsoon storms, and shifting wind patterns. Delhi's 2025 summer has essentially been compressed into a few unpredictable weeks, initially dampened by rain and then intensified by a delayed heat wave.
Delhi's summer of 2025 has beaten all weather forecasts. A rare meteorological irregularity for the city occurred when there were no heatwaves in May, a month known for its extreme heat. However, a severe heat wave in early June swiftly followed this brief respite, underscoring the unpredictability of the current climate patterns. As seasonal timelines become less clear and extreme events become less predictable, Delhi's weather has changed from being hot and rainy to being unpredictable.
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