Rain in Delhi: Several social media users posted photos online, mostly welcoming the showers.

Heavy rain hit parts of Delhi on Monday afternoon after days of dry spell in the National Capital Region. Earlier in the day, cloudy skies had raised hopes of Delhi residents and the afternoon showers brought much-needed respite from the searing heat coupled with humidity in the city since the onset of monsoon.

Strong winds accompanied by heavy rain led to a dip in the temperature from 36 degrees Celsius in the morning to 28 degree Celsius by afternoon. Delhi recorded 28.8 mm rainfall, the maximum in July this year, according to the The Safdarjung Observatory. Humidity levels in the city was between 64 and 96 per cent.

From July 1 to July 15, the Safdarjung Observatory recorded 55.6 mm rainfall, 61.5 per cent less than the 30-year average of 88.3 mm during the period, according to officials quoted by new agency PTI.

The Indian Meteorological Department had predicted light shower on Monday and rain in Delhi is expected to continue until Thursday. "The sky will remain generally cloudy with light rain or drizzle expected. The city is likely to receive light rain till Thursday," an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, also forecast rain in the national capital on Monday. "Winds over Delhi and NCR have changed to easterly. We expect the weather to change and rains will commence by today evening. Intensity will increase gradually," a Skymet official was quoted as saying news agency IANS.

Rain in Delhi: Earlier in the day, cloudy skies had raised hopes of residents.

Several social media users posted photos of Delhi rain online, mostly welcoming the showers.

The US embassy in New Delhi tweeted: "Ah! The sounds, the sights and majesty of the #Monsoon! Only in India! We are soaking it in, here at the Embassy".

Ah! The sounds, the sights and majesty of the #Monsoon! Only in India! We are soaking it in, here at the Embassy! #DelhiRains☔ #MondayMotivationpic.twitter.com/RctglJ21If — U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) July 15, 2019

#DelhiRains A welcome sight for us Delhi folks. Although wish we were taking advantage of this through #RainWaterHarvesting at scale. #DelhiWaterCrisispic.twitter.com/85gHkiFDbS — Shivam Sood (@shivamsood24) July 15, 2019

The southwest monsoon arrived in Delhi on July 5, almost a week later than it was expected. The onset of monsoon brought much-needed relief to residents from the searing peak summer heat. The city had witnessed a near-record heat wave with temperatures touching 48 degrees - a record high for the month June.

(With inputs from PTI and IANS)