Delhi sees first late-September rain in 7 years, temperature dips 5.1°C below normal

The maximum temperature fell to 29.2°C, marking a significant drop, with similar conditions expected to persist into Sunday.

Even as the southwest monsoon has withdrawn from Delhi, a depression over northeast Madhya Pradesh brought light rainfall to the Capital and led to a sharp dip in the maximum temperature on Saturday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said similar conditions, of rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds, will persist on Sunday.

On Saturday, Delhi logged 0.6mm of rainfall until 8.30pm. (Arvind Yadav/HT)

This is also the first time in the past seven years that it has rained so late in September. Previously, 0.3mm of rainfall was recorded on September 29, 2019. On Saturday, Delhi logged 0.6mm of rainfall until 8.30pm.

IMD said the monsoon withdrawal line advanced through Chandigarh, Muzaffarnagar and Aligarh on September 26. “At the same time, a depression over northeast Madhya Pradesh and adjoining north Chhattisgarh moved north-northwestwards, towards southeast Uttar Pradesh (UP). It was expected to weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area after moving further north-northwest. However, the weather system moved faster than expected,” an IMD official said.

“This depression in the south moved upwards and created a micro-pressure area in UP, causing widespread rainfall in Uttarakhand and UP. The peripheral clouds are affecting parts of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi-NCR. We can expect a few spells of light to moderate rainfall in isolated areas until Monday and the weather will clear up after September 29,” said Mahesh Palawat, the vice-president of Skymet Weather.

He said that a western disturbance is also present as a trough in the middle-tropospheric westerlies, while other weather systems are active over eastern and northeastern India.

Mercury dip

The maximum temperature at Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, fell to 29.2 degrees Celsius (°C) on Saturday, which was 3.8°C down from the day before and 5.1°C lower than the normal for the day. The fall was sharper at several other stations, with the Ridge station clocking a maximum of 27.5°C and Lodhi Road clocking 28.3°C.

Minimum temperatures also fell by around a degree over the past 24 hours, with Delhi recording 23.2°C, according to IMD data.

The IMD has forecast generally cloudy conditions on Sunday, with one or two spells of very light to light rainfall at most places and moderate rain at isolated places during the afternoon and evening. Another spell of light rain is possible towards the night. Thunderstorms, lightning and strong winds of 30-40 kmph, gusting to 50 kmph, are also likely. The maximum temperature is expected to remain between 28°C and 30°C.

“Generally cloudy sky is expected to persist. One or two spells of very light to light rain at most places is expected,” an IMD official said, adding that thunderstorms, lightning and strong winds could accompany the rainfall.

For September 29, the department has forecast only isolated very light rainfall in the early morning, with the maximum temperature expected to rise to 32-34°C.