Delhi’s June rain now in excess, more likely till month end: IMD

The met department has forecast light rain to continue on Wednesday and Thursday.

After parts of Delhi received light to moderate showers on Tuesday morning, the normal monthly rainfall mark for June was surpassed this year.

Commuters out in the rain at Delhi’s Pandav Nagar on Tuesday. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

So far, Delhi has received a total rainfall of 79.5mm — an excess over June’s long-period average (LPA) of 74.1mm. This also puts Delhi in the “surplus rain” category this month. As per India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, this is the first time in three years that the June LPA was surpassed — after 85mm rain was recorded in June 2020, when the LPA was 65.5mm.

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The rain also helped Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) which remained in the “satisfactory” category for a third day in a row. It is expected to remain in this category till the end of the week, officials said.

The met department has forecast light rain to continue on Wednesday and Thursday. A yellow alert is in place for light to moderate rain on Friday, which could further add to the June tally. However, the days are expected to remain humid till the end of the week, officials said, adding that humidity on Tuesday oscillated between 67% and 99%.

While rainfall for Safdarjung is considered to calculate Delhi’s monthly rain total, the IMD also compiles district-wise data — taking an average of all districts to find the average rainfall recorded across Delhi each month. IMD’s district-wise data shows that Delhi is currently in the “large excess” category for June, with an average of 102.6mm of rainfall recorded till 8.30am on Tuesday – almost double the monthly normal mark of 51.7mm till this point.

Besides, eight of Delhi’s nine districts were in the “excess” or “large excess” category, with only one district – northeast Delhi — in the “large deficient” category.

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In the district-wise breakdown, central Delhi recorded the highest rainfall at 226.1mm — a large excess of 259% over the normal mark of 63mm. This is followed by 122.5mm in west Delhi which saw a large excess of 144%.

Northeast Delhi, which recorded a large deficient of 61%, received just 24.6mm rainfall.

To be sure, the IMD categorises rainfall between -19% and 19% as “normal”, between -59% and -20% as “deficient” and between -99% and -60% as “large deficient” on its index. Moreover, rainfall between 20 and 59% is considered “excess” rainfall and over 60% above the average mark is “large excess”.

“Delhi will continue to see rains over the next few days, but mainly late at night or in the early hours of the day. During the day, we will see partly cloudy skies and high humidity. The rain activity will reduce slightly on Wednesday and Thursday. However, it may pick up once again on Friday, with moderate showers expected in some parts,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at IMD.

In the 24-hour period till 8.30am on Tuesday, Safdarjung recorded 5.6mm of rainfall. Lodhi Road and Ridge recorded 11.2mm of rainfall during this same period, while Ayanagar recorded 36.6mm and the Pusa station 52.5mm. Between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Wednesday, 0.1mm of rainfall was recorded at Safdarjung, 51mm at Mungeshpur, 3.5mm at Najafgarh and 1mm at Jafarpur, IMD data showed. Parts of the city witnessed some rains in the evening as well.

On Monday, Delhi’s maximum was recorded at 34.8 degrees Celsius (°C) – two degrees below normal but still over a degree warmer than a day earlier when it was 33.2°C. The minimum was 24.5°C which was three degrees below normal. The maximum is forecast to rise to 36°C on Wednesday, while the minimum will be around 26°C.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s AQI was recorded at 86, as per Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) national bulletin at 4pm on Tuesday. This puts the AQI in the “satisfactory” category for a third consecutive day. A day earlier, it was 93 (satisfactory) at the same time. Forecasts show that the AQI is likely to remain in the “satisfactory” category till Friday.

The CPCB classifies an AQI between 0-50 as “good”, between 51 and 100 as “satisfactory”, between 101 and 200 as “moderate”, between 201 and 300 as “poor”, between 301 and 400 as “very poor” and over 400 as “severe”.