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With 302.2 mm rainfall, Chandigarh marks wettest day in 70 years
There is an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rains in the city on Sunday so more rains can be expected as well. Before Saturday, 262 mm rainfall was recorded in 2000 on July 18 which was the previous all-time highest rainfall record
Chandigarh on Sunday marked the wettest day in 70 years as the city received a record 325.5 mm rainfall between 8:30am on Saturday and 8:30am on Sunday, officials at India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
This has broken the all-time record for the highest amount of rainfall in 24 hours in July. The previous wettest day since the IMD started maintaining records, was recorded in 1953.
Ever since the rains started around 6:00am on Saturday, 345.3 mm rainfall has been recorded at the IMD observatory in Sector 39. There is an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rains in the city on Sunday so more rains can be expected as well, said officials.
Before Saturday, 262 mm rainfall was recorded in 2000 on July 18 which was the previous all-time highest rainfall record.
AK Singh, IMD Chandigarh director said, “While the monsoon system is also active, there is a strong western disturbance (WD) which primarily led to the rain on Saturday. The confluence of the two systems led to this heavy spell of rain.”
The WD system started affecting the region on Saturday and it is likely to rain throughout the day on Sunday as well, he added.
He said the effect of the WD will start to weaken from Sunday night, while chances of rain will continue from Monday onwards it is unlikely to lead to rainfall of the same intensity.
A cyclonic circulation has also formed over the region and Pakistan which is also contributing to the rains in the city, said the IMD official.
Owing to continued rainfall, the average temperature also fell 3°C below normal. The night temperature also dropped from 25.6 degrees on Saturday to 23.6 degrees on Sunday,
Apart from Chandigarh, the highest amount of rain was recorded at Nangal Dam in Punjab’s Ropar district with 282.5 mm rainfall followed by Ballowal Saundra with 270 mm rainfall and Tiber with 245 mm rainfall.
In Haryana, Radaur in Yamuna Nagar received 246 mm rainfall followed by Kalka with 244 mm and Panchkula with 239 mm.
IMD has issued an orange alert for both states for Sunday and has advised residents to stay inside their homes and be prepared.
People also took to social media to share clips of the waterlogging. In Mohali’s Gulmohar City extension, people were seen neck-deep in water. Tractors and boats were used to rescue the people stuck on the road as the water level had gone up to the roofs of the cars.
