``Though it is a weak current, it is definitely a weak monsoon current,'' says S.C. Gupta, director of the Met Department. ``The monsoons are here earlier than we predicted, but they are here.''

The city recorded nine millimeters of rain this afternoon after days of stifling heat and humidity. Met officers had predicted an early monsoon but the rains today have come a week before their prediction. Delhiites, though, are not complaining.

The rains come following a week of consistent highs. The maximum temperature in the past one week has hovered around 38 degree Celsius and the humidity has not dropped below 77 per cent. The collective effect of both the temperature and humidity has been an unbearably hot fortnight.

Today, following the rains, the mercury settled at a pleasant 26.6 degree Celsius, 11 degrees less than the 37.8 degree Celsius that was recorded in the morning.

Tomorrow will be another overcast day, with the weatherman expecting the monsoons to hit the city in full force within the next 24 to 48 hours. ``A system is forming in the area again,'' explains Gupta. ``The monsoon should hit the city in full force in a couple of days. It is already active over Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.''

The normal onset date for the monsoons over Delhi is June 29. This time, however, the weatherman had predicted that the monsoons will hit the city a couple of days before June 29. The showers today indicate that the rains have made their presence felt a week before the weatherman's predicted date.

The general weather outlook for the month of June states: ``Hot days with strong dust-raising winds during the first fortnight. During the second fortnight pre-monsoon thundershower activity begins and the monsoons normally set in towards the end of the month.'' This year, the weather followed the general pattern in the first fortnight. But pre-monsoon thundershowers have been reduced to a couple of days, with the early onset of monsoon activity.

Averages for the month also indicate that the maximum temperature after June 20 hovers around 39 degree Celsius with the month ending on a comparative high of 37 degrees. So far, the maximums have been in keeping with the averages, except for brief spells when the mercury touched the 40 degree mark.

The forecast for the next 48 hours, however, only talks about overcast skies and ``possibility of rains''.