Gurugram gets 39% of total rainfall in 33 hours, surplus by 88mm

The average rainfall for the whole monsoon season (June to September) for Gurugram is 472mm, according to IMD Chandigarh. With 185mm, Gurugram on Monday achieved 39% of the season’s total rainfall

Over the past two days, Gurugram received 185mm of rain, which is about 39% of the total average rainfall of 472mm that it receives each monsoon, officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The rainfall over the past two days has been so heavy that the city is already rain surplus (as on July 19), even though monsoon reached Gurugram only last Monday, after a delay of 16 days.

Severe waterlogging at Hero Honda Chowk. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

According to a bulletin issued by IMD Chandigarh on Monday evening, Gurugram (city) received 185mm of rain between 8.30am on Sunday and 5.30pm on Monday.

Although the exact figures on the rainfall from late Sunday to Monday morning are not available, IMD officials said judging by the intensity, the downpour on Monday could be the highest daily rain recorded during monsoon in the city. An official with IMD Chandigarh said the weather department started maintaining records for Gurugram only from this year.

“From Sunday 8.30am till Monday 8.30am, Gurugram received 145mm of rainfall and from Monday 8.30am till 5:30pm, the city received a further 40mm of rainfall. This is most likely the highest daily rainfall received by Gurugram during the monsoon,” the official with IMD Chandigarh, cited above, said on condition of anonymity.

The official said Gurugram, at present, has received 88mm of surplus rainfall as compared to the seasonal average, from June 1 till present, which is 243mm.

The average rainfall for the whole monsoon season (June to September) for Gurugram is 472mm, according to IMD Chandigarh. With 185mm, Gurugram on Monday achieved 39% of the season’s total rainfall, the official explained.

Prior to the rainfall over the past two days, the city received 160mm of rainfall on August 20 last year and 100mm of rainfall on September 9, according to the End of Monsoon Season reports of the IMD.

In August 2020, in around six hours of rain, widespread flooding of arterial roads and underpasses was reported in Gurugram. Three underpasses on the Golf Course Road at DLF Phase 1, Genpact Chowk, and Bristol Chowk, two in Cyber City next to Shankar Chowk and Cyberhub, two on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway at Iffco Chowk and Rajiv Chowk were flooded and shut for traffic.

In July 2019, the city received 80mm of rainfall, according to the End of Monsoon Season reports of IMD.

Meanwhile, the meteorological centre in Chandigarh on Monday afternoon issued an orange alert for Gurugram for Tuesday, predicting, “heavy to very heavy rain with thunderstorms/lightning at isolated places.”

As part of the orange alert, officials said there might be widespread water logging in low-lying areas, short-term disruptions of water and electricity connections, traffic congestion, low visibility and slippery roads.

With continuous rain, temperatures in the city dropped on Monday, with a maximum temperature of 26.7 degrees Celsius (°C), which was eight degrees below the normal, and a minimum temperature of 23.2°C, which was three degrees above normal.

According to the weekly forecast of the IMD, the temperature in the city is likely to reduce over the next three days owing to the rain. The maximum temperature is expected to remain at 32-33°C, and the minimum temperature is likely to remain at 23-25°C.

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre, said, “As the Delhi-NCR has received heavy rain today (Monday), the intensity of rain is likely to reduce over the next few days. On Tuesday, the region is likely to receive light to moderate rain but after that, it will reduce gradually.”