Rain improves AQI to 83 as Delhi marks wettest day in October in 4 years

The IMD forecasts no rain on Tuesday, while air quality is expected to range from moderate to poor over the next several days.

Delhi received 41.6 mm of rainfall in a single spell on Monday, nearly three times the monthly long-period average (LPA) of 15.1mm for October.

Safdarjung recorded a maximum temperature of 30.2 degrees Celsius on Monday (HT)

The early-morning showers improved air quality and lowered temperatures, making Monday the wettest day in October in four years. The city’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) fell to 83 in the satisfactory category from 111 a day earlier.

According to weather data, the last time Delhi recorded higher rainfall in October was on October 9, 2022, when Safdarjung, the city’s base weather station, recorded around 74 mm of rain.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data recorded at 5.30 pm on Monday, Safdarjung received 41.6 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am. Lodhi Road recorded 41.4 mm, the Ridge station 49 mm , Ayanagar 39 mm and Palam 31 mm.

The showers and thunderstorm led to waterlogging at several locations, including the Dharampura-to-Iron Bridge stretch on Ansari Road, the Mahipalpur flyover, Zakhira underpass and the area around Ghazipur Murga Mandi.

Palam recorded a maximum temperature of 28.4 degrees Celsius, 6.1 degrees below normal, while the minimum settled at 17 degrees Celsius, 4.5 degrees below normal. At Lodhi Road, the maximum and minimum temperatures were 29.8 degrees Celsius and 18.7 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The Ridge recorded a maximum temperature of 29.1 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 20 degrees Celsius, while Ayanagar recorded a maximum temperature of 29.5 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 18.5 degrees Celsius.

Delhi’s air quality has improved steadily over the past few days, falling from 176 on October 9 to 162 on October 8, 136 on October 7 and 122 on October 10, before reaching 111 on Sunday and 83 on Monday.

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System, Delhi’s air quality is likely to remain in the moderate category from October 13 to 15. Over the following six days, it is expected to fluctuate between moderate and poor categories, indicating that the improvement following Monday’s rainfall may be short-lived.

The IMD has forecast partly cloudy skies for Tuesday, with no rain expected. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 34 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature is expected to settle at around 21 degrees Celsius.