NEW DELHI: People in Delhi had a hard day on Tuesday because of heavy rain that fell all day and caused waterlogging and traffic delays all over the city. The heavy rain made August the wettest month of the year so far, with rainfall levels much above normal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says that the national capital has had an incredible 321.4 mm of rain this month. That’s about 60% more than the regular monthly average of 200.8 mm. This heavy rain has caused the city to get more rain than usual for the whole monsoon season, which runs from June 1 to September 30. Delhi has had more than 700 mm of rain since the monsoon started in late June. This is quite close to the city’s yearly average of 774.4 mm.
Some places had really heavy rain on Tuesday. By 8:30 am, the Safdarjung observatory, which is Delhi’s main weather station, had recorded 68.1 mm of rain. Other stations saw much more rain: the Ridge got 129.5 mm, Lodhi Road got 71.8 mm, Pragati Maidan got 45.5 mm, and Pusa got 37.5 mm. Later in the day, from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, the city saw more rain. Stations like Palam, the Ridge, Aya Nagar, and Safdarjung reported between 1.6 mm and 10.4 mm of rain.
The nonstop rain caused the usual problems on the city’s roads. Commuters were delayed in high traffic on important roads like the Delhi-Jaipur Highway, Madhuban Chowk, Peeragarhi Road, and Shadipur. There were also reports of waterlogging in several low-lying locations, such as Old Rohtak Road, the AIIMS crossing, the ITO region, and the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road.
The weather helped cool things down, even if it was hard to get around. The highest temperature on Tuesday was 31.6 degrees Celsius, which is 2.5 degrees lower than normal. The lowest temperature, on the other hand, was 23.9 degrees Celsius, which is also 2.5 degrees below than the seasonal average. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said that the air quality stayed in the “satisfactory” range with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 55, which is a rare good thing for the capital. It is fine if the AQI is between 51 and 100.
Delhi’s record-breaking monsoon is not over yet. There have already been 12 wet days this month, and the IMD says more rain is on the way.