Delhi resets its rain record, sees 2nd wettest 24-hr spell of rainfall in 15 yrs

The city added another 7.4mm of rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Sunday, taking October’s rainfall total so far to 107.3mm—around seven times the normal monthly mark of 15.1mm. To be sure, Delhi received 122.5mm of rainfall in all of October last year.

The Capital recorded a spell of “heavy” rainfall at most of its stations in the 24-hour period between Saturday and Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday, adding that Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station for weather, recorded 74.3mm of rainfall during this period. For Safdarjung, this was the second wettest 24-hour spell of rainfall in the last 15 years, IMD data shows. Delhi had recorded 87.9mm of rain on October 18, 2007.

A reflection of Jama Masjid in a puddle of water amid a light spell of rain, in New Delhi on Sunday. (ANI)

The city added another 7.4mm of rainfall between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Sunday, taking October’s rainfall total so far to 107.3mm—around seven times the normal monthly mark of 15.1mm. To be sure, Delhi received 122.5mm of rainfall in all of October last year.

Delhi on Sunday continued to witness overcast skies, light rain and gusty winds, causing the maximum temperature to fall 10 degrees below normal for this time of year. The Capital recorded a maximum temperature of 24.1 degrees on Sunday, a small hike from 23.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

The minimum temperature also reduced due to the rain, with the mercury recording 19.3 degrees Celsius—one degree below normal. In comparison, the minimum temperature was 20.8 degrees on Saturday.

RK Jenamani, scientist at IMD, said that while the difference in maximum and minimum temperatures increased on Sunday, it was just 2.6 degrees apart on Saturday—the lowest difference for the month of October from 1969 to 2022.

“This difference between the maximum and minimum is called the diurnal variation. It was the lowest on Saturday, between 1969 and 2022 at 2.6 degrees. The last time it was almost this low was on October 19, 1998, when the difference was 3.1 degrees,” Jenamani said.

According to IMD data, while Safdarjung recorded 74.3mm of rainfall till 8.30 am on Sunday, Mayur Vihar recorded 114mm, Pusa 95.3mm, Ayanagar 85.2mm and Lodhi Road 87.2mm. In the next nine hours, Safdarjung added another 7.4mm of rainfall to its quota, Lodhi Road 6.6mm and Mayur Vihar 9.5mm. The IMD classifies rainfall as “very light” when it is between trace and 2.4mm; “light” when it is between 2.5mm and 15.5mm; “moderate” when it is between 15.6mm and 64.4mm and “heavy” when it is 64.5mm or higher within a 24-hour window.

IMD has forecast light rainfall on Monday, and drizzle activity or very light rainfall on Tuesday. No rain is expected in Delhi from Wednesday onwards. “Peak rainfall activity has already occurred on Saturday. There will be a gradual decline in rain activity now; However, overcast skies will still prevail over the city till Tuesday,” Jenamani added.

Forecast for Monday shows maximum and minimum temperatures of 26 and 20 degrees Celsius respectively, while Tuesday may see a maximum and minimum of 26 and 21 degrees Celsius respectively.

Snarls in several places

Traffic congestion was reported from parts of the national capital on Sunday amid the rain. Police advised commuters to plan their journey accordingly and issued a statement informing the general public about potholes and water logging in the city.

“Due to incessant rain, some roads have been affected by water logging and potholes. Commuters are advised to plan their journey accordingly and avoid these stretches for their convenience. Traffic is affected on New Rohtak Road in the carriageway from Zakhira towards Anand Parbat due to water logging near Anand Parbat red light. Commuters are advised to avoid the stretch,” the Delhi Traffic Police tweeted on Sunday.

Messages through traffic control room were also flashed to control rooms of other civic agencies. The traffic control room received calls of water logging from Peera Garhi, Mangol Puri (Pashchim Vihar), GTK Depot (Shalimar Bagh) and Pandav Nagar underpass (Mayur Vihar).

Similarly, nine calls reporting potholes were received from Patel Chowk, Gol Dak Khana, Talkatora Stadium, Rajokri, Maharani Bagh, Rohtak Road, Najafgarh Road, Peera Garhi and Desh Bandhu Gupta Road.

Commuters also took to Twitter to post updates regarding traffic congestion in parts of the city. Heavy traffic jams were reported from Zakhira flyover, Najafgarh road towards Bahadurgarh, and on Ring Road from Raja Garden Chowk till Dhaula Kuan stretch.