Wettest R-Day in 6 yrs, to be drier, cooler today
NEWDELHI: Thursday was the wettest Republic Day in Delhi in the last six years with 23.7mm of rainfall. The city experienced almost non-stop rain during the course of the day. The only other time in the six year period that it had rained on Republic Day was in 2015.
This year it was almost 20 times more than 2015, when rainfall was recorded at 1.4mm.
Despite the rain, the maximum temperature in the capital was 18.1°C and the minimum temperature was recorded at 16°C. The maximum temperature was 4 degrees below normal, while the minimum was 7 degrees above normal.
It felt colder in the city, because of the winds that kept blowing at speeds around 5-10 kmph, according to officials at the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC).
It is expected to get drier and cooler on Friday, with the RWFC expecting the maximum and minimum temperatures to be 17°C and 14°C respectively, and winds to be blowing at similar speeds. The MeT department has not predicted any rain on Friday, but the day will remain ‘partly cloudy’.
“If somebody switches on the fan in a room, we feel colder, even though the temperature does not change. Something similar happens when wind starts blowing in the winter. And just like the fan, the stronger the wind, the colder we feel,” explained a weather expert. Rains played spoilsport for President Pranab Mukherjee’s last ‘At Home’ programme of his tenure as heavy downpour forced change of the venue from majestic Mughal Gardens in the open to the confines of Durbar and Ashoka halls.
With around 3,000 guests descending for the ‘At Home’ function hosted by the President on the 68th Republic Day, Rashtrapati Bhawan had thrown open its Banquet hall and ‘Upper Loggia’ to accommodate everyone. The President along with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and PM Narendra Modi were seated in the Ashoka hall while the remaining guests were accommodated in other three places.