Rain plays spoilsport in Gurugram on Sunday

The city received a light but prolonged spell of rain on Sunday, which served to clean the air, even as temperatures continued to rise. The minimum temperature on

The city received a light but prolonged spell of rain on Sunday, which served to clean the air, even as temperatures continued to rise. The minimum temperature on Sunday settled at 11.4 Celsius degrees.

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Waterlogging was also reported from several areas, but officials said that they easily managed to clear the situation in a short duration as only isolated spots were affected.

The rainfall started around 6am on Sunday and continued till late afternoon. However, the automatic weather system in the city failed to record the amount of rainfall received.

Several areas of the city also reported power outages and voltage fluctuations since 4am. However, most of the issues were resolved and power restored to the affected areas by the evening.

Air quality improves

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast, thunderstorm with hail can be expected on Monday, with the temperature expected to rise further over the next few days. The wet spell is expected to continue till January 5, after which cold wave to severe cold wave conditions are likely to set in again from January 7 onwards at isolated places in the state, as per IMD’s bulletin.

While the minimum temperature of the city rose by two degrees to settle at 11.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday from 9.5 degrees Celsius the previous day, the maximum temperature was 16.8 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD’s Palam observatory in Delhi. The IMD’s automatic weather station (AWS) for Gurugram did not record the city’s temperature on Sunday. The Palam observatory, according to the MeT department officials, gives a fairly accurate reading of the city’s weather.

As per the IMD’s weekly forecast, the maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 10 degrees Celsius and 18 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Prolonged showers in the first half of the day on Sunday brought about a significant improvement in air quality, with Gurugram recording 260 on the Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index (AQI) bulletin, indicating poor air. This was down from 376 the previous day, which was in the upper end of the very poor category of the AQI.

However, Delhi, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad all continued to record very poor air on Sunday as well. Manesar, which typically records cleaner air than Gurugram, saw an AQI of 288 on Sunday.

Experts said that winds originating southeast, of speeds between 15 and 20kmph, may have played a more influential role in Gurugram than in other parts of NCR. “What is emerging as a clear trend is Gurugram’s favourable geographic position, where it enjoys favourable meteorology to a greater extent than other major NCR cities,” said Sachin Panwar, a city-based independent air quality scientist.

As per the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, “The predominant surface wind is likely to be coming from east-southeast direction of Delhi with wind speed 10-18 kmph, generally cloudy sky, light to moderate rain/thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds (20-30 kmph) and possibility of hailstorm at isolated places on 04.01.2021.”.

A blanket reduction in air pollution is expected across NCR on Monday, with AQIs across the region predicted to range from the lower end of the poor category to the upper end of moderate category.

Waterlogging

According to officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), waterlogging was reported from areas such as Mayfield Gardens, Palam Vihar, Sector 10 A, Kadipur Road, sectors 27, 28, 47, 49, and 50.

MCG’s chief engineer, Raman Sharma, said that since the rains were scattered and generally of low intensity, localised waterlogging took place only for a short duration and that they had to install motor pumps or use suction machines in only four locations.

“The rain was of low intensity and scattered. Hence, heavy water accumulation did not occur on the streets or roads. Rainwater receded from stormwater drains in a short time. Only in four locations, such as Kadipur Road and Sector 10A, we needed to install motor pumps to drain out rainwater to the nearest drainage outlet or use suction pumps to clear the choked lines,” said Sharma.

Power outage

Several localities in the city were affected by power cuts on Sunday, including parts of Udyog Vihar, Palam Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Sector 49, DLF Phases 2 and 3, Sector 23, Sector 52 and Sector 56, among others. While power supply to most areas had been restored by evening, residents complained that outages had begun as early as 4am, lasting well into the afternoon.

Ravi Pathak, a resident of Ashok Vihar Phase 2, said that his neighbourhood had gone without power for over 12 hours on Sunday. “The power went off around 4am and all day, I tried calling the power department’s helpline number, but to no avail. After a point, I was unable to even call the department as my mobile phone turned off. The connection was restored only at around 8pm on Sunday,” said Pathak.

In other parts of the city, residents also complained of receiving murky water. “Whenever it rains heavily in my area, we start receiving totally murky water. I have raised this issue with the authority concerned, but not received any answer,” said Bhaskar Kotwal, a resident of Sector 4.

Shiv Sekhri, another resident of Sector 4, raised similar concerns. “This has been a recurring issue throughout the year. The water is not even fit to bathe with,” he said.

KC Agarwal, chief engineer, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday. Multiple junior officials, including executive and superintending engineers, also declined comment.