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Chandigarh: 62.8mm rain in 24 hours makes January wettest of all time
As per IMD records for Chandigarh, maintained since 1953, following the showers in the past 24 hours, the city had recorded 181.5mm rain in January, with a week to go
With 62.8mm rain between Saturday night and Sunday, Chandigarh recorded its wettest January of all time, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
As per IMD records for Chandigarh, maintained since 1953, following the showers in the past 24 hours, the city had recorded 181.5mm rain in January, with a week still left.
Before this, at 166.6 mm, the highest rainfall in January was recorded in 1983.
Till January 23, 22.9mm is considered normal rainfall for January, making the 181.5mm rain so far this month eight times higher than the average.
The 62.8mm recorded in this 24-hour period is also the highest in January since the 59.2mm showers on January 7, 2017.
Higher rain than any monsoon month last year
Interestingly, showers in January 2022 have exceeded the rain received in any of the monsoon months in 2021, when 129.9mm rain was recorded in June, 128.6mm in July and 168.3mm in August.
September 2021, which was the wettest month of the year, had slightly more rain at 176.8mm, although, with a week still left, January may cross this mark too.
Speaking on the excess rain in January this year, IMD Chandigarh director Manmohan Singh said, “Rainfall in January is dependent on western disturbances (WDs). While January usually sees two to three WDs in the entire month, this year, two to three very strong WDs have already affected the city, along with an equal number of feeble systems, which brought trace rainfall (less than 0.1mm).”
He added that earlier this month, two strong WDs, which arrived in quick succession, were also fed moisture from the Arabian Sea as well as the Bay of Bengal due to formation of low-pressure areas. “The confluence of moisture-laden winds from Arabian Sea with WDs also contributed to the above normal rain seen on Sunday,” Singh said.
Light rain expected today
With system having mostly passed the region, only light rain is expected on Monday morning, after which the rain will stop for now.
“Thereon, we expect moderate to dense fog in the city for the next few days, especially in the morning, which can lead to the maximum temperature dropping below normal and leading to cold day conditions. With the cloud cover clearing up, the minimum temperature may also dip by 4 to 6 degrees. Meanwhile, another WD is likely to affect the region around January 30, but it’s too early to say whether it will lead to any rainfall,” the IMD director said.
Tree causes damage in Sector 20
Along with the heavy rain on Sunday, winds up to 25km per hours were also blowing in the city. Due to the winds and rain, a tree fell down near the Dhobighat in Sector 20 around 9.20am on Sunday.
This damaged a shed, along with the boundary wall of the dhobighat, but the workers escaped injury.
Meanwhile, city’s maximum temperature plunged from 16°C on Saturday to 12°C on Sunday, 8.3 degrees below normal. On the other hand, the minimum temperature went up from 9.8°C to 10.7°C, 5.1 notches above normal.
