Rain in Delhi breaches average monthly mark for first time since February

Against an average rainfall mark of 19.7mm for May, Delhi has now recorded 29.9mm of rainfall this month, including 12.3mm on Monday and 14.6mm on till 8.30am Tuesday

A second spell of gusty winds and thunderstorm activity hit the Capital late on Monday night and continued into the early hours of Tuesday as Delhi crossed the monthly average rainfall mark for May, data from India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed.

On Monday, the thunderstorm, which saw wind speeds touch 60 km/hr, also led to 15 flights being diverted from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport to nearby airports between 10pm and midnight, and over 50 flights delayed past midnight, officials said. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Against an average rainfall mark of 19.7mm for May, Delhi has now recorded 29.9mm of rainfall this month, including 12.3mm on Monday and 14.6mm on till 8.30am Tuesday. The last time Delhi received excess rainfall was in February, following which March and April were dry and received only a combined 0.3mm of rainfall.

According to Met officials, no rain is expected from Wednesday and heatwave conditions are not expected to make a return until the end of the month.

On Monday, the thunderstorm, which saw wind speeds touch 60 km/hr, also led to 15 flights being diverted from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport to nearby airports between 10pm and midnight, and over 50 flights delayed past midnight, officials said.

Met officials said the wet spell on Monday and Tuesday occurred due to an active western disturbance (WD) prevailing across the region.

After heavy rain and thunderstorm on Monday morning, officials said rainfall activity resumed at around 11pm across Delhi-NCR, and continued till around 3 am on Tuesday in places, as wind speeds touched around 50-60 km/hr close to midnight.

At Safdarjung weather station, which is considered representative of the city, the maximum temperature touched 32.5 degrees Celsius (°C) -- seven degrees below normal but a degree up from a day ago.

“As forecast, a second spell of thunderstorm activity, gusty winds and rain hit Delhi on Monday night and 3.8mm of rainfall was recorded at Safdarjung between 8.30pm and 11.30pm, while another 10.5mm was recorded between 11.30pm and 2.30am,” said a Met official.

“This spell has provided considerable relief in terms of the drop in mercury and only a gradual rise will be seen over the coming days. The maximum will rise to around 36°C by Wednesday and around 39°C by Thursday, with it hovering around 40-43°C until the end of the month,” the official added.

Delhi had received excess rainfall in both January and February. While it received 88.2mm of rainfall in January, making it the wettest in the last 121 years, it received 29.7mm of rainfall in February – the wettest in the last eight years. The normal mark for both months is 21.7mm and 18mm respectively.

March received no rainfall against a normal mark of 15.9mm. In April, the city saw 0.3mm rain as opposed to a normal of 12.2mm.

Flights affected

Airport officials said the strong winds and thunderstorm activity led to 15 flights being diverted to nearby locations, including Jaipur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh. Over 50 flights were also delayed. “The diversions occurred between 10pm and midnight, with some delays continuing after that,” an official said.

Forecast for Wednesday shows clear skies, however, the maximum and minimum will remain below normal. The maximum is expected to hover around the 36-degree mark, while the minimum will be around 20 degrees.