New Delhi, Sep 23 The Southwest Monsoon bid farewell to the national capital on Wednesday after its shortest stay over Delhi in 14 years, ending an 83-day spell that began late but left the city with above-normal rainfall, the India Meteorological Department said.
The monsoon remained over Delhi from July 2 to September 23 this year, compared with 87 days in 2025, 96 days in 2024 and 97 days in 2023.
According to IMD data, the last time it stayed for fewer days was in 2012, when the monsoon arrived over Delhi on July 7 and withdrew on September 25, lasting 80 days, according to IMD data.
This year, the monsoon arrived in Delhi on July 2, five days after its normal onset date of June 27, marking the first July onset in the national capital in five years, after it reached Delhi on July 13 in 2021.
The Southwest Monsoon withdrew from Delhi, along with most parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan and some parts of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, the weather office said.
The withdrawal came two days ahead of the normal date of September 25. In 2025, the monsoon withdrew from Delhi on September 24.
Since 1961, the earliest withdrawal was recorded in 1982, when the monsoon retreated on September 3, while the most delayed withdrawal was in 2013, when it remained over the capital until October 17.
Despite the shorter monsoon spell, Delhi received above-normal rainfall during the season.
Safdarjung, the city’s base observatory, recorded 728.6 mm of rainfall from June 1 to September 23 against the normal 629.7 mm, an excess of 16 per cent.
An IMD official told PTI that no major rainfall record was broken this year despite the rainfall being above normal, as Delhi had received more than 900 mm of rainfall in each of the previous two years.
The season was marked by a delayed onset, prolonged breaks in rainfall activity and intense spells of rain, particularly in July and August, before rainfall activity declined sharply in September.
In July, the first month of the monsoon over Delhi, Safdarjung received 254.7 mm of rainfall during the month against the normal 201.9 mm, an excess of 26 per cent.
The rainfall was unevenly distributed across the national capital.
The Ridge recorded 285.5 mm in July against its normal of 188.5 mm, an excess of 51 per cent, while Lodhi Road received 274.4 mm against 201.9 mm, 36 per cent above normal.
Ayanagar received 210.1 mm during July against its normal of 178.5 mm, an excess of 18 per cent, while Palam was the only major observatory to record below-normal rainfall, receiving 179.1 mm against its normal of 198.2 mm, a deficit of 10 per cent.
The monsoon’s strongest rainfall month was August, when Safdarjung received 354.1 mm against the monthly normal of 222.9 mm, an excess of 59 per cent.
The month witnessed an intense spell on August 25, when Safdarjung recorded 99.1 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, the highest rainfall for an August day in two years.
The station had last recorded more rainfall on August 1, 2024, when it received 107.6 mm.
The Ridge received 357.4 mm in August, nearly 97 per cent above its normal of 181.3 mm, while Ayanagar recorded 383.2 mm against its normal of 179.2 mm, an excess of 114 per cent.
Lodhi Road received 332 mm against its normal of 222.9 mm, while Palam recorded 300.8 mm against its normal of 207.6 mm.
By the end of August, Delhi had received 653.9 mm of rainfall at Safdarjung since the beginning of the monsoon season, against the seasonal normal of 506.7 mm, a surplus of 29 per cent.
September, however, was considerably drier, with Safdarjung receiving 74.7 mm of rainfall till September 23. The capital recorded three rainy days during the month, with rainfall activity tapering off before the eventual withdrawal of the monsoon.
The seasonal rainfall remained above normal despite the fluctuations.
The 728.6 mm recorded at Safdarjung up to September 23 was 16 per cent above the normal of 629.7 mm and fell in the “normal rainfall” category, which covers departures between minus 19 and plus 19 per cent.
The city’s air quality also remained largely satisfactory during the rainy season, with some fluctuations in July and August.
In July, Delhi’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) for the first 30 days stood at 119, with 15 days in the moderate category, 12 satisfactory, two poor and one good.
The city recorded its first “good” air quality day in July in nine years, with the AQI falling to 48. It also recorded a maximum AQI of 261 during the month, the highest daily maximum for July in five years.
In August, Delhi’s average AQI for the first 28 days stood at 92. Of these, 19 days were in the satisfactory category and nine in the moderate category.
In September, the AQI remained largely in the satisfactory category, with 19 satisfactory days and four moderate days recorded up to September 23.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI of 0-50 is classified as “good”, 51-100 as “satisfactory”, 101-200 as “moderate”, 201-300 as “poor”, 301-400 as “very poor” and 401-500 as “severe”.
(PTI News)
