Unseen Rain

According to the NITI Aayog report, Delhi is among 21 cities that will run out of groundwater by 2020.

The weather gods seem to be angry at Delhiites due to which the capital is constantly under the heat.

“The sky will remain cloudy in the day. Dust storm and thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and gusty winds at the speed 40-50 km per hour is expected at some isolated places,” said an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official.

Monsoon is the only time for Delhiite to enjoy the rainy breeze along with chai and pakora. The delay in monsoon has led the capital to suffer from water crises as well.

Rahul Shah a school student shared his feeling and said, “I always wait for the monsoon to arrive so that I can play football with my colony friends in the mud and enjoy the coolness of the weather.”

Meanwhile, the rise in mercury level above 48 degrees in the capital has forced many societies and localities to call for the water tank.

Like Delhi, Chennai also saw a major water crisis this year and is battling with the scarcity of water supply.  The situation has forced authorities to cut piped water supply by 40 percent, a dramatic time-lapse video of satellite images has emerged, showcasing lakes drying at double speed in many cities.

People have started avoiding stepping out of their house due to heat, which is causing a lot of health issues such as dehydration and sanitation. Anita Aggarwal, school teacher, shares, “I carry two bottles of water before stepping out of the house to avoid any sort of dehydration. Sometimes, those two bottles are not enough as heat is increasing every day.

El Nino is usually the reason behind this disbalance in weather condition. El Nino is a part of routine climate pattern that occurs when sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean rise to above-normal levels for an extended period of time.

Whereas the other parts of the country are enjoying the rain, as monsoon has covered almost half of the country and very soon it will hit northeastern states as well, however Delhi and other north Indian states would remain dry for few more days.  

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), Monsoon is likely to arrive in Delhi around June 29.  

Mohit, a vegetable vendor shares, “It is due to the immense hot weather that we had to carry buckets of water every day. Once the monsoon hits, it will be happy days again.”  

Although, a recent rainfall on Sunday brought a little relief with the minimum temperature record at 28.2 degree Celsius. Apart from the recent heatwave, depleting groundwater levels are also among many reasons for the diminished supply in various areas.