E-Paper
658 mm rain & counting: July set to become all-time wettest month in Chandigarh
India Meteorological Department has predicted light rain till July 25, it has issued a warning for heavy rain on July 26 and July 27 in Chandigarh
With a week to spare, July has already witnessed 658.7 mm rain, only 59.3 mm short of the all-time highest in a month in Chandigarh.
With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting chances of heavy rain on at least two more days, the month may well become the wettest since 1953, when IMD started maintaining data for the city.
While IMD has predicted light rain till July 25, it has issued a warning for heavy rain on July 26 and July 27.
Currently, the record for highest rain in a month is held by August 2004, when the city had received 718 mm showers.
Of the total rain in July this year, 531.6 mm was recorded in just 48 hours between July 8 and July 10. With 302.2 mm rain, July 9 became the wettest day in the city since IMD started keeping records.
In all, 792.1 mm rain has been registered this monsoon season, from June onwards. For the corresponding period, it is 125.1% above normal, while for the whole monsoon — from June to September — when 845.7 mm rain is considered normal, 93.7% of the total quota has already been met.
Interestingly, of the annual quota of 1,059.3 mm, the city received 62.2% showers in July alone.
As per IMD officials, a Western Disturbance (WD) is still active in the region because of which chances of rain will continue in the coming days as well. Multiple WDs are also what led to the heavy rains this season, which IMD scientist AK Singh termed unusual for this region.
Meanwhile, amid clear skies, the maximum temperature went up from 29.4°C on Saturday to 35.6°C on Sunday, two degrees above normal. The minimum temperature also rose from 23.5°C to 26.4°C, but was still one degree below normal.
Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will hover between 32°C and 35°C, while the minimum temperature will remain between 26°C and 27°C.
