New Delhi, Oct 12 Heavy rain and thunderstorms lashed Delhi in the early hours of Monday, making it the wettest October day in four years, bringing down temperatures and improving the city’s air quality to the ‘satisfactory’ category for the first time this month.
The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi’s base weather station, recorded 41.6 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Monday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The last time the city recorded higher rainfall in October was on October 9, 2022, when Safdarjung received around 74 mm.
The Ridge recorded the highest rainfall among the city’s five weather stations at 49 mm, followed by Safdarjung at 41.6 mm, Lodhi Road at 41.4 mm, Ayanagar at 39 mm and Palam at 31 mm during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am.
Between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, the Ridge recorded another 1.4 mm of rainfall, while Safdarjung, Palam, Lodhi Road and Ayanagar reported no rainfall during the period.
Waterlogging was reported in parts of Sainik Farm in south Delhi and Mahipalpur. Visuals from R K Puram, Kartavya Path and other parts of central, southeast and west Delhi showed rain lashing the city.
The Delhi Traffic Police said on X that traffic had been diverted on both carriageways of Ansari Road, between Dharampura and Iron Bridge, due to waterlogging.
The showers were triggered by a combination of weather systems, including a western disturbance over northern Pakistan, a cyclonic circulation over Haryana and winds from the Bay of Bengal and southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea, a weather expert said.
“This is a normal weather pattern, and the showers are typical post-monsoon rainfall. Residents can expect intermittent showers over the next three days,” said Mahesh Palawat of Skymet.
According to the IMD’s automatic weather station network, Kamla Nehru Nagar in Ghaziabad recorded the highest rainfall at 52 mm between 8.30 am on Sunday and 7 am on Monday, followed by Janakpuri at 35 mm, Pragati Maidan at 35.2 mm, Narayana at 40 mm, and Pusa at 42 mm.
Pitampura recorded at least 24.5 mm, Chhatarpur at 19 mm, Mayur Vihar at 20.5 mm, Jharoda Kalan at 19.5 mm, Jafarpur at 4.5 mm, Najafgarh and Mehrauli at 0.5 mm each, and Hindon in Ghaziabad at 3 mm.
Among the stations with available wind data, Pusa recorded the highest wind gust at 46.3 kmph during the same period, followed by Pitampura and Pragati Maidan at 37 kmph each.
The rainfall brought cooler conditions to the capital, with the minimum temperature at Safdarjung settling at 18.7 degrees Celsius, 2.3 degrees below normal and the lowest recorded so far this month.
Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 17 degrees Celsius, 4.5 degrees below normal, while Lodhi Road registered 18.7 degrees Celsius, 1.3 degrees below normal. The Ridge recorded a minimum of 20 degrees Celsius, 2.1 degrees below normal, while Ayanagar registered 18.5 degrees Celsius, 2.4 degrees below normal.
The maximum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 30.2 degrees Celsius, four degrees below normal. Palam recorded a maximum of 28.4 degrees Celsius, 6.1 degrees below normal, while Lodhi Road registered 29.8 degrees Celsius, 3.2 degrees below normal.
The Ridge recorded a maximum temperature of 29.1 degrees Celsius, 5.6 degrees below normal, while Ayanagar registered 29.5 degrees Celsius, 5.1 degrees below normal.
The showers also improved Delhi’s air quality, with the city’s average air quality index (AQI) standing at 83 on Monday, in the ‘satisfactory’ category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. This was the first time this month that Delhi’s air was ‘satisfactory’.
An AQI between zero and 50 is classified as ‘good’, 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 as ‘severe’.
According to the Air Quality Early Warning System, Delhi’s air quality is likely to remain in the satisfactory category on Monday before slipping into the ‘moderate’ category from October 13 to 15. The outlook for the subsequent six days suggests that air quality is likely to be in the ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ category.
(PTI News)
