New Delhi, July 14 -- Parts of NCR were hit by short but intense spells of rain on Sunday evening following dark grey clouds and gusty winds of over 50km/hr. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an "orange" alert earlier before upgrading it to a "red" alert by 7pm. The IMD has also forecast light to moderate showers in the city on Monday and patchy rain from Tuesday till Saturday. According to data from the IMD, Safdarjung, Delhi's base station, received 10.1mm rainfall between 5.30pm and 8.30pm on Sunday. Maidan Garhi recorded 13.6mm, Pusa 10mm, Palam 1.2mm, Najafgarh 0.5mm and Janakpuri 0.5mm. Rain was accompanied by strong winds with speeds touching 57 km/hr at Pragati Maidan, 55 km/hr at Palam and 37 km/hr at Mayur Vihar. "Delhi and NCR recorded rain due to the combination of three factors - presence of monsoon trough which was south of Delhi, impact of an active western disturbance, and low-pressure area over north-west Madhya Pradesh with associated cyclonic circulation extending up to the upper tropospheric levels," said IMD scientist Krishna Mishra. Rain in the last four days has helped Delhi cover the overall rainfall deficit, bringing the monsoon into the "normal" category. IMD data shows Delhi has received 117.8mm of rainfall between June 1 and July 12, compared to the normal of 126.3mm. South-west Delhi was the only district in the "large excess" category. Six districts were in the "normal" category - central, New Delhi, northeast, south, southeast, and west. North Delhi and northwest Delhi are currently in the "large deficit" category. According to IMD, a shortage of more than 19% rainfall from the normal is considered to be "deficit", a difference of -19% to 19% is "normal", and between 20% and 59% is considered "excess" rainfall. "Large excess" is categorised when rainfall is 60% more than normal. Delhi's maximum stood at 34.8degC on Sunday, a degree below normal. The minimum was 25.1degC, two degrees below normal. The maximum is expected to be between 32-34degC on Monday with overcast skies, IMD said. Meanwhile, Delhi's air quality improved to the "satisfactory" category on Sunday, with a 24-hour reading of 79. The average AQI on Saturday was 105 - in the "moderate" category. Neighbouring Gurugram recorded a maximum of 32.6degC on Sunday, with a minimum of 26.8degC. The district recorded 5.5mm rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm. Gurugram's AQI was in the "moderate" category at 138 on Sunday, a minor drop from Saturday's 147. Despite almost a fortnight elapsing since the onset of monsoon in Delhi, two of the Capital's three Doppler weather radars (DWRs), used to track clouds and predict rain, are not functional, officials aware of the matter said. Delhi has three DWRs, at Palam, Lodhi Road, and Ayanagar, which have ranges of 400km, 250km, and 100km, respectively. The DWRs at Lodhi Road and Ayanagar have both been out of operation for over a month now, making forecasts reliant on the remaining radar at Palam. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) attributed this to routine maintenance, but added that the Doppler at Ayanagar is likely to be made operational soon. A DWR sends radio waves from its antenna, which hit clouds and bounce back, allowing it to gauge how far rain clouds or rainfall activity actually are from the city. Based on the distance and trajectory of the clouds, IMD forecasts when rainfall will hit a particular point in the city, along with the intensity expected. Experts said that while the Palam DWR has the largest radius-not impacting monsoon forecasts significantly-the Doppler radars at Lodhi Road and Ayanagar have a shorter radius and thus, allow for more precise short-term forecasts, allowing weather forecasters to gauge more accurately which areas are likely to receive more rain. "Lodhi road has been out of operation for nearly two months now. Ayanagar has also been out of operations for over a month. The two in theory work together to add to the Palam doppler by giving a more precise estimate on how fast clouds are moving and the storm intensity. If one has at least Lodhi road available alongside Palam, forecasts, along with the possible impact time and the area being affected becomes more precise," said Ashwary Tiwari, a meteorologist who runs the page IndiaMetSky on X. DWRs operate within the S, C and X bands of the microwave spectrum, allowing wavelengths ranging from 2.4 to 15 cm to be sent out to detect different weather systems. While the Ayanagar's DWR has an X-band radar, the Lodhi Road one uses a C-band, and the Palam radar uses an S-band. M Mohapatra, director general of IMD, however, said even with the two Doppler radars out for maintenance, there were no challenges to forecasting weather in Delhi for this monsoon....