NEW DELHI: Heavy rain and thunderstorms lashed Delhi early on Monday, making it the wettest October day in four years, bringing down temperatures and improving the city’s air quality to the ‘satisfactory’ category for the first time this month.
The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi’s base weather station, saw 41.6 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Monday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The last time the city recorded higher rainfall in October was on October 9, 2022, when Safdarjung received around 74 mm.
The Ridge recorded the highest rainfall among the city’s five weather stations at 49 mm, followed by Safdarjung at 41.6 mm, Lodhi Road at 41.4 mm, Ayanagar at 39 mm and Palam at 31 mm during the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am.
Between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, the Ridge recorded another 1.4 mm of rainfall, while Safdarjung, Palam, Lodhi Road and Ayanagar reported no rainfall during the period.
Waterlogging was reported in parts of Sainik Farm in south Delhi and Mahipalpur. Visuals from R K Puram, Kartavya Path and other parts of central, southeast and west Delhi showed rain lashing the city. The Delhi Traffic Police said on X that traffic had been diverted on both carriageways of Ansari Road, between Dharampura and Iron Bridge.
The showers were triggered by a combination of weather systems, including a western disturbance over northern Pakistan, a cyclonic circulation over Haryana and winds from the Bay of Bengal and southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea, aa expert said.