Delhi’s 1st moderate spell of rain in nearly 3 months

NEW DELHI: Monday morning’s showers were Delhi’s first light, or moderate, spell of rain in nearly three months, said officials from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), bringing to an end a dry patch that exacerbated the severe heat across the region, leading to record temperatures in some parts of the Capital.

The city saw light to moderate rainfall in most parts on Monday morning, with showers most intense in west, south-west and south Delhi, data from the weather office showed.

Safdarjung, considered the base station for Delhi’s weather, recorded 12.3mm of rain between 5.30am and 8.30am on Monday, even as Ayanagar in south-west Delhi received 52.2mm of rain during this period, followed by 29mm of rainfall in west Delhi’s Najafgarh and 27.6mm at Palam.

Delhi’s last such spell of rain was on February 26 this year, when the Safdarjung station received 10.1mm of precipitation.

IMD classifies rain as ‘very light’ when it is between ‘trace’ and 2.4mm, as ‘light’ when it is between 2.5 and 15.5mm; as ‘moderate’ when it is between 15.6 and 64.4mm and ‘heavy’ when it is over 64.5mm in a single day.

Other stations that received rain on Monday morning included Ridge (14.2mm), Lodhi road (13.8mm), Pitampura (6mm) and Jafarpur (5.5mm).

Met officials said this is also the first time in three months now that Delhi’s rain is in ‘surplus’ for the month, with the Capital recording a rain deficit in March and April. Until Sunday, May too was in a deficit, having received only 3mm, as opposed to the normal rainfall mark of 13.1mm till May 22.

After adding 12.3mm of rainfall till 8.30am on Monday and another 0.3mm between 8.30am and 5.30pm, it has now received 15.6mm of rainfall, 2.1mm than the normal mark of 13.5mm until May 23.

The normal monthly mark for all of May is 19.7mm.

“We had not seen an active western disturbance in Delhi from March 1, with the rainfall received in that time also in the ‘very light’ category. This is the first moderately intense thunderstorm this summer,” said RK Jenamani, scientist at IMD, adding that Delhi has a good chance of adding some more rain on Tuesday.

Safdarjung recorded a maximum of 31.5 degrees Celsius (°C) on Monday — eight degrees below normal and the lowest maximum for Delhi since March 12, when it was 31.2°C. The minimum was 17.2°C — nine degrees below normal and Delhi’s lowest for the month in 18 years. It was last lower was on May 1, 2004, at 16.7°C degrees.

Delhi’s lowest maximum temperature on Monday was 28.6°C at Mungeshpur, which, just days ago, was the hottest spot in the Capital, with temperatures crossing the 49°C mark.

MET OFFICIALS SAID THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN THREE MONTHS THAT DELHI’S RAIN IS ‘SURPLUS’ FOR THE MONTH