E-Paper
Chandigarh: 2 months to spare, 903 mm rain surpasses annual monsoon quota
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon season in Chandigarh is considered from June 1 up to September 30
The city recorded 76.2 mm rain on Friday that took the total rainfall since monsoon’s onset this year to 903.9 mm — already 6% excess than the season quota of 845.7 mm, with two months to go.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon season is considered from June 1 up to September 30. Also, the 903.9 mm rain is the highest since 2018 when 993.3 mm rain was recorded during monsoon.
With 302.2 mm rain, July 9 alone accounts for 33% rain in monsoon this year and also was the wettest day in Chandigarh’s history as per IMD records. This rain spell was caused by the confluence of an active Western Disturbance (WD), a cyclonic circulation and the monsoon system.
Meanwhile, the 76.2 mm rain on Friday also made it the wettest August day in the city since 2020 when 133.5 mm rain was recorded on August 12. In just one day, the city logged nearly 50% of the rain received in entire August last year (159.1 mm).
Chances of heavy rain are likely to continue over the weekend, as per IMD.
The probability of rain is highest in the hills, but due to Chandigarh’s location in the foothills, there are chances of heavy rain in the city on Saturday and Sunday. The intensity of rain will decrease from Monday onwards, but possibility of light rain will continue.
IMD Chandigarh director Manmohan Singh said, “An active WD is interacting with the monsoon system. However the WD’s effect is abating. Even on Friday, most clouds came from the south-east direction, which indicates the rain was mostly due to the monsoon system. Further rains will also be caused by monsoon.”
As IMD has spotted no more WDs in the coming days, heavy rain witnessed in July will be unlikely at least for the first half of August.
Scattered showers in the tricity
Interestingly, while the southern sectors of Chandigarh got heavy showers, some parts of the tricity got no rain at all. While the IMD observatory in Sector 39 recorded 76.2 mm rain, only 16 mm rain was logged at the airport observatory. No rain was recorded at the automatic weather station installed by IMD in Panchkula.
As per Singh, this phenomena takes place due to cloud distribution during monsoon months and as the monsoon enters its second half, differences in cloud distribution can lead to only certain parts getting rain, while others remain dry.
Due to the rain, the maximum temperature went down from 35.8°C on Thursday to 32.2°C on Friday. On the other hand, the minimum temperature rose from 27.2°C to 28.8°C. Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will remain between 32°C and 33°C, and the minimum temperature around 28°C.
