The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Delhi downpour highest in 88 yrs, brace for more: IMD
MONSOON ARRIVED in Delhi with a bang on Friday, bringing 228 mm rainfall, mostly during a three-hour early morning spell, that happened to be the heaviest single-day downpour in the capital in June in the last 88 years.
Over half of the day’s rainfall, 148.5 mm, happened between 2.30 and 5.30 am, the India Meteorological Department said. The last time Delhi had so much rain on a single day in June was way back in 1936 when 235 mm rainfall was recorded.
A lucky confluence of several cyclonic circulations, three of them located close to Delhi, pulled warm and moist air from the Bay of Bengal where a lowpressure area had already been active for the last two days. As a result of the strong pull, the entire belt over Odisha, Chhattisgarh, most of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and eastern parts of Rajasthan received good rainfall on Friday.
Some places received heavy to very heavy rainfall, IMD said. These cyclonic circulations are expected to continue to result in good rainfall over north, central, eastern and northwest India, including over Delhi, over the next five days, it said.
The Met office announced that Friday’s rainfall coincided with the arrival of monsoon over Delhi. Now only a narrow region, consisting mainly of some parts of central and western Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Punjab and Rajasthan are without monsoon. These areas are expected to get covered in the next two to three days.
The heavy rainfall on Friday also meant that the monthly rainfall for June this year at the Safdarjung airport station was the third highest ever, after 1936 and 1933. The highest total monthly rainfall recorded in June at the station was in 1936 (415.8 mm), followed by 1933 (399 mm).
Asked about the reason for the extremely heavy rainfall in a short span, Soma Senroy, IMD scientist, said, “There was a moisture confluence from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.” The two wind systems carrying heavy moisture interacted with each other causing the heavy downpour in Delhi.
The heavy rain led to waterlogging across the Capital, leaving many residential colonies without power, and inundated roads, leading to traffic chaos. Flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport were also affected. The IMD issued an advisory urging people to look out for slippery roads, low visibility, traffic disruption and localised waterlogging in low-lying areas. It also warned citizens from venturing into areas with waterlogging, to check traffic congestion, and to stay updated with weather warnings. Meanwhile, the air quality in Delhi-ncr showed a significant improvement as out of 26 stations in the region, 18 showed a satisfactory air quality index (AQI). Most of the stations recorded satisfactory levels of particulate matter (PM) 10 and PM 2.5. The IMD’S seven-day forecast has predicted heavy rain after June 30.
Earlier, the Met office had announced Thursday that the monsoon would arrive in Delhi within two to three days.
The IMD has issued a yellow alert (be aware) in its seven days of forecast and an orange warning (be prepared) for Sunday.