Amid incessant rains in the National Capital Region and its adjoining areas, the India Meteorological Department on Friday said that the withdrawal of the monsoon from northwestern parts of the country is not expected to progress for another five to seven days.

On Tuesday, the weather department had announced that the monsoon has started to withdraw from South West Rajasthan and portions of Kutch in Gujarat, The Indian Express reported. In its forecast, the weather department had added that dry conditions would prevail in Delhi, Chandigarh and Punjab due to the withdrawal of the annual rain-bearing winds.

However, Delhi and its nearby areas have witnessed heavy rains over the last three days.

In the 24 hours ending on Friday morning, Delhi received more than half of its average rainfall for the entire month of September, reported PTI. As the downpour continued throughout Friday, the weather department issued a yellow alert predicting moderate to heavy rainfall in the national capital till Sunday.

The authorities in Gurugram, Haryana, issued an advisory urging all private education institutions to remain shut on September 23 because of heavy rainfall. In Uttar Pradesh’s Noida, officials ordered all government and private schools up to Class 8 to remain shut for a day.

The Gurugram administration also advised private offices to allow their staff to work from their homes to avoid traffic snarls.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in New Delhi has attributed the rains to a cyclonic circulation over North West Madhya Pradesh, The Indian Express reported. The weather department also said that parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand can expect heavy rainfall or thunderstorms till September 25.