Delhi gets highest 24-hr rain for May

Over 119mm of incessant rainfall, induced by cyclonic storm Tauktae and a western disturbance, lashed Delhi in the 24 hours to 8.30am on Thursday, breaking the Capital’s all-time 24-hour rainfall record for the month of May.

The spell of rainfall was so heavy that it surpassed what is generally received in the entire month, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data. The last time Delhi saw more rain in all of May was in 2008, when the city recorded

NEW DELHI:

165mm rain in the entire month.

IMD said that in the 24 hours till 8.30am on Thursday, Delhi recorded 119.3mm rainfall, which was around twice the rain recorded on a “regular” monsoon day – around 55-65mm. The rain and the gusty winds also led to the pollution levels in the city dropping to “satisfactory” levels on Wednesday for the first time since September 23, 2020, or after a gap of 238 days, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recordings.

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD’S regional weather forecasting centre, said that till 8.30pm on Wednesday, Delhi had also recorded 60mm rainfall, which was equivalent to the previous all time record lodged on May 24, 1976. “The rainfall activity intensified at night and by 8.30am on Thursday, Delhi had received 119.3mm rainfall, which broke the all-time (24-hour) record for May,” he said.

The rain continued to give Delhi residents a cool summer with the maximum temperature at Safdarjung weather station, which is considered the official marker for the city, touching 31.4 degrees Celsius, nine degrees below what is considered nor