The "break monsoon" phase in Delhi and adjoining areas in northwest India is likely to continue till August 18 and good rainfall in the last 10 days of the month is expected to cover the precipitation deficit in the capital, weather forecasters said on Saturday.

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the capital, has recorded a meagre 63.2mm rainfall in August so far against the normal of 123.1 mm -- a shortfall of 49 per cent -- according to the India Meteorological Department.

Normally, the capital gauges 247.7mm rainfall in August. The IMD had earlier predicted normal rainfall for Delhi this month.

The break monsoon phase, the second this season, started on August 10 and is likely to continue till August 18, said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Weather.

The 'break monsoon' phase got extended in the absence of any favourable weather system which would have pulled the monsoon trough from the foothills of the Himalayas towards the plains.

"However, a low-pressure system is developing in the Bay of Bengal. It will travel in the west direction to south Madhya Pradesh and pull the monsoon trough, leading to rains in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and west Uttar Pradesh from August 19, Palawat said.

He said good rainfall in the last 10 days of August is expected to cover the deficit, but the monthly precipitation may not surpass the long-period average of 247.7mm.

During the monsoon season, there are spells when the monsoon trough shifts closer to the Himalayan foothills, leading to a sharp decline in rainfall over most parts of the country.

However, rainfall increases along the foothills of Himalayas, Northeast India and parts of the southern peninsula.

In July, the monsoon had entered the first break phase even before reaching most parts of northwest India, including Delhi.

The capital had gauged an unusual 507.1 mm rainfall this July, which was nearly 141 per cent above normal. It was also the maximum rainfall in the month since July 2003, and the second highest ever.

Owing to the intense bursts of rains in July, the capital has gauged 605.1mm rainfall since June 1, when the monsoon season starts, against the normal of 399.2 mm -- an excess of 52 per cent.