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With 33.4mm rain, Chandigarh sees wettest October day in 21 years
On Monday, around 0.1 mm rain was recorded till 8:30 am while between 11 am and 11.30 am, 8mm was logged; in the afternoon, from 2.30 pm till early evening hours, 33mm rain was recorded
With 33.4 mm rain, the city recorded its wettest October day since 2004 on Monday. As per India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials, chances of rain will continue on Tuesday, however, the intensity is likely to be lower. By Wednesday, the skies are expected to clear up.
On Monday, around 0.1 mm rain was recorded till 8:30 am while between 11 am and 11.30 am, 8mm was logged. In the afternoon, from 2.30 pm till early evening hours, 33mm rain was recorded. This is the highest that the Sector 39 IMD observatory, which started keeping records from 2012, has recorded until now. At the airport observatory, 129.6 mm rain was recorded on October 12, 2004, the highest for this month since 1954.
After withdrawal of monsoon is declared, an anticyclonic movement forms over the region which usually keeps rain at bay. As per the IMD, the average rain for the entire month is just 22.2 mm, which was crossed in a single day on Monday.
IMD Chandigarh director Surender Paul said, “We normally don’t see so much rain in October. Monday’s rain was a consequence of a strong Western Disturbance. Even though the monsoon had withdrawn from the region, the strong WD had drawn Easterly winds which remain active during monsoon. Further, Cyclone Shakti is also active over the Arabian Sea which also fed moisture to this system.”
Temperature drops 11 notches
The day-long rain also took the maximum temperature from 36°C on Sunday to 24.8°C on Monday, 7.8 degrees below normal. This is the lowest that the city has seen for this month since 2021 when day temperatures had dropped to 19.3°C on October 24. Last year, the maximum temperature hadn’t gone below 30°C even once during the month.
About the slide in temperature, Paul explained that this was expected in wake of the rains in the region and snowfall in Himachal Pradesh which started from Sunday.
Winter chill still far but expect cooler days
While the maximum temperature is likely to start rising from Tuesday itself, Paul added, “As it has already started snowing in Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, it is likely to have an effect in this region as well. While the temperature will rise when the skies clear up, it is likely to start dropping in the coming days due to the snow and season change.”
Paul added that global systems like La Ninã point towards a colder winter but that will start only around December.
The minimum temperature, meanwhile, rose slightly from 19.4°C on Sunday to 22.2°C on Monday, 1.3 degrees above normal. Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will remain between 26°C and 29°C while the minimum temperature will remain between 19°C and 20°C.
