Monsoon was expected to make landfall in Delhi in the last week of June (Representational)

Monsoon will be further delayed in Delhi and its adjoining areas by 10-15 days, private weather forecaster Skymet said today. It was expected to make landfall in the national capital and its adjoining areas in the last week of June; it has now been pushed back to middle of July.

Monsoon is however expected to make landfall in Kerala in the next 48 hours. Skymet has predicted a weak monsoon this time- it has been the second driest pre-monsoon season in 65 years. Samar Chaudhary, a meteorologist at Skymet told news agency ANI that the recorded pre-monsoon showers this time is just 99mm against a normal of 131.5mm.

The three-month pre-monsoon season - March, April and May - ended with a rainfall deficiency of 25 per cent.

Pre-monsoon rainfall is vital to many parts of the country. In states like Odisha, ploughing of fields is done in the pre-monsoon season and in parts of northeast India and the Western Ghats, it is critical for plantation of crops.

Skymet said the dry monsoon is due to the prevailing El Nino over the areas. This condition will affect the landfall of monsoon as well.

El Nino is a routine climatic pattern linked to the heating of Pacific Ocean. In India, it dampens the conditions that are needed for moist monsoon winds. It is often associated with lower-than-normal rainfall for India.

The Indian Meteorological Department defines average or normal rainfall as between 96 per cent and 104 per cent of a 50-year average of 89 centimetres for the entire four-month season beginning June.

Delhi and most parts of north India has been reeling under intense heat with places in Rajasthan touching the 50 degrees mark. Last week, Rajasthan's Churu recorded scathing temperatures of 50.8 degree Celsius which was nine degrees above normal.

Lights rains however brought the heat down on Tuesday in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.