E-Paper
After 80% of season’s rain in 11 days, HS Puri says Delhi’s monsoon woes to be over soon
The Safdarjung Observatory has recorded 147.4 mm rainfall against the normal of 165.2 mm in August so far. Overall, it has recorded 466 mm rainfall, six per cent more than the normal of 441.3 mm since June 1 when the monsoon season officially begins.
After incessant rainfall over the past few days, several parts of national capital Delhi remained flooded on Thursday, leading to traffic snarls and chaos on the roads. Delhi received nearly 80% of the season’s rainfall in 11 days, Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said and expressed confidence that the government would soon be able to solve the monsoon woes of the people of the city.
“Delhi received 80% of the season’s rainfall in 11 days. I urge all our partners—the Delhi government, urban local bodies and others to learn from experiences year after year. I’m confident we can solve problems of the common man,” Puri said on continuous water-logging in Delhi and adjoining Gurugram.
The rainfall also reduced the rain deficiency in the capital -- from 13 per cent on Monday to 11 per cent on Wednesday.
The Safdarjung Observatory has recorded 147.4 mm rainfall against the normal of 165.2 mm in August so far. Overall, it has recorded 466 mm rainfall, six per cent more than the normal of 441.3 mm since June 1 when the monsoon season officially begins.
On an average, the city logs 11.3 mm rainfall from 8:30 am on August 19 to 8:30 am on August 20 every year. The Palam weather station gauged 70.9 mm precipitation during the period, more than six times the normal rainfall for this time of the year.
Earlier, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of thunderstorms along with heavy rains in Delhi and neighbouring areas on Thursday too. The downpour may lead to “major traffic disruption” due to heavy water logging and there is also an “increased chance” of road accidents, the IMD has cautioned.
Water-logging was particularly severe in Gurugram, where roads were completely inundated, harassing commuters who remained stuck for hours on water-logged roads. The rains also led to power outages in many parts of the city.
Civic agencies in the national capital reported incidents of trees being uprooted in a few areas due to heavy rain. A boundary wall of a school in South Delhi’s Saket also collapsed, damaging several vehicles parked alongside it.
