The city received 30.9mm rain since Wednesday night, making Thursday the wettest January day since 2017, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
This spell of rainfall comes after all of December and most of November in 2021 remained dry. Just one day in November received 0.6mm rain, while December recorded only trace rainfall (less than 0.1mm).
According to IMD records, Thursday’s rain was the highest in a 24-hour period in January since 2017 when 59.2mm rain was recorded on January 7. Interestingly, the 30.9mm showers also surpassed the 5.5mm rain received in the entire January last year.
Speaking about this, IMD Chandigarh director Manmohan Singh said, “Rain in winters is only dependant on western disturbances (WD). The latest WD was highly active and was also being fed moisture by the Arabian Sea, which is why it brought more rain than the weaker WDs in December 2021.”
More rain expected from tomorrow
While the current WD has passed, another will affect the city from Saturday onwards. “There is again a chance of up to 30mm rain on Saturday and Sunday in the city. There is also a warning of heavy rain in the northern parts of Punjab.”
{{/usCountry}}While the current WD has passed, another will affect the city from Saturday onwards. “There is again a chance of up to 30mm rain on Saturday and Sunday in the city. There is also a warning of heavy rain in the northern parts of Punjab.”
{{/usCountry}}Mercury rises
After rain in the morning, the day turned sunny by afternoon, causing the maximum temperature to jump by over four notches, rising from 15.2°C on Wednesday to 19.5°C on Thursday, but was still one degree below normal.
The cloud cover at night also caused the minimum temperature to increase slightly from 12.3°C to 12.5°C, seven notches above normal.
Over the next three days, the day temperature will remain between 17°C and 20°C, while the minimum temperature may go up to 14°C.