NEW DELHI: Delhi received 4.3 mm of rain at Safdarjung on Sunday morning, after recording 0.6 mm until 8.30 pm the previous evening, extending rainfall into the final days of September. The September 27 shower was the first rain this late in the month since 2019, when 0.3 mm was recorded on September 29.
The late rain came just four days after the southwest monsoon withdrew from Delhi on September 23. The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) normal withdrawal date for the Capital is September 25, based on the 1971-2019 period.
This year’s withdrawal was the earliest since 2002, when the monsoon left Delhi on September 20. The 2026 monsoon arrived on July 2, five days later than the normal onset date of June 27. It lasted 83 days, seven days shorter than the normal duration.
Safdarjung recorded an average 141 mm of rain in September between 2001 and 2025, with a median of 129.6 mm. The highest was 413.3 mm in 2021, while the lowest was just 3 mm in 2004. The standard deviation was 98.5 mm, showing wide variation around the average. Six of the 25 years recorded more than 200 mm, while 11 years recorded less than 100 mm. Recent years show the same swings.
September rainfall was 20.9 mm in 2020, followed by 413.3 mm in 2021. It fell to 164.5 mm in 2022 and 82.7 mm in 2023, before rising to 192.5 mm in 2024 and 136.1 mm in 2025. The IMD’s 2025 Delhi monsoon report records the complete Safdarjung series from 2001 to 2025. The 2025 figure was 10% above Delhi’s September normal of 123.5 mm at Safdarjung. In 2025, rainfall also differed sharply across the city, ranging from 97 mm at Lodhi Road to 171.8 mm at Ayanagar.
This year’s rainfall pattern was also uneven within the season. Delhi received 728.6 mm at Safdarjung from June 1 to September 23, against the normal 629.7 mm, a surplus of 16%. That seasonal figure was classified as normal rainfall by IMD despite being above the long-period average. The late showers then added at least 4.3 mm at Safdarjung by Sunday morning.
However, the withdrawal record itself has always shown wide variation. IMD data place the earliest withdrawal since 1961 on September 3, 1982, while the latest came on October 17, 2013. Delhi also saw withdrawal of rains on October 2 in 2007 and 2024, while it came on September 18 in 2001 and September 20 in 2002. The 25-year September series therefore points to variability rather than a clear directional change in rainfall.