Delhi Rains Break 50-Year-Old Record

New Delhi: Since Saturday, Delhi has had nonstop rain, leaving several areas of the city soggy and causing traffic on many significant thoroughfares to move slowly. Even though it’s unusual for the national capital to get heavy rain in October, the showers have been very welcome as the air quality has improved.

The rainy weekend in Delhi reduced the difference between day and nighttime temperatures to a record low, shattering s 50-year-old record. Between Saturday and Sunday, the national capital also saw its second-highest rainfall total since 2017.

The difference between the minimum and maximum temperature was the lowest in Delhi since 1969 as rains pounded various areas of the capital over the past few days. The day-night temperature difference in Delhi reached a record low as a result of the nearly constant rain that fell there—74 mm up until 8:30 am on Sunday.

The temperature difference between Friday’s minimum (20.8 degrees Celsius) and Saturday’s maximum (23.4 degrees Celsius) was 2.6 degrees Celsius, which was the smallest for the studied period from 1969 to 2022. The previous record for this gap was 3.1 degrees Celsius on October 19, 1998.

In addition, October is the month when the air quality begins to decline as winter approaches; this is partly attributed to field fires.

While this was going on, Mahesh Palawat, vice president of Skymet, a private weather firm, claimed in a tweet on Sunday that the recent deluge set a new record for the city of Safdarjung in October. The main weather station in Delhi is the Safdarjung observatory. “74 mm 24 hour #rain over #Delhi #Safdarjung is highest during last decade. patchy rain may continue for next two day. But with reduced intensity. Record is of 172.7 mm on Oct 01 in 1954. #DelhiRain @SkymetWeather @JATINSKYMET,” he noted in a tweet.

74 mm 24 hour #rain over #Delhi #Safdarjung is highest during last decade. patchy rain may continue for next two day. But with reduced intensity. Record is of 172.7 mm on Oct 01 in 1954. #DelhiRain @SkymetWeather @JATINSKYMET

— Mahesh Palawat (@Mpalawat) October 9, 2022

 

Due to the rain since Saturday, the temperature in the nation’s capital also dropped by more than 10 degrees. By Monday, the severity of the rain is forecast to lessen, providing relief for office workers and commuters as traffic congestion is predicted to decrease.

Heavy rains have been falling in adjacent cities including Noida, Faridabad, and Gurugram in addition to Delhi.

According to the IMD, Amroha, Moradabad, Garhmukteshwar, Rampur, Sambhal, Chandausi, Jahangirabad, Khurja, Narora, Sahaswan, Badayun, Aligarh, Kasganj, Nandgaon, Hathras, Mathura, and Etah have been impacted in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh.

Further, in many areas of Maharashtra, a yellow rain alert, which signals deteriorating weather, has been issued. There have been significant downpours in many other states as well.