NEW DELHI: The national capital, this August, saw the lowest monthly rainfall since August 2009, as per India Meteorological Department (IMD) records.
According to IMD records, the Safdarjung Observatory, which is representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded a monthly rainfall count (till August 30) of just 41.6 per cent against the normal count (by this time of the year) of 233.1mm, running into a huge rain deficit of 82 per cent.
If seen even over the past 24 hours, Safdarjung received only 0.2mm of rain. The average monthly rainfall count for August is 247.7 mm, which is considered to be the rainiest month of the monsoon season.
According to IMD officials, the southwest monsoon in the national capital officially starts from June 1 and lasts till September 30.
However, this August has instead turned out to be the driest in terms of rainfall count, as the month has not seen a single heavy or good spell of rain except for some isolated spells or light showers. As per IMD data, this August has seen 16 days of rainfall. Last year, the month saw only 10 days of rain, but since the spells were good and widespread, the monthly rainfall count was 214.5 mm.
Even the seasonal rainfall count is much less at 352.4 mm against the normal count of 516.9 mm, which means a rain deficit of 32 per cent. Due to scant rain and high moisture in the atmosphere, Delhi has seen a long trail of hot and humid days the entire month.
R K Jenamani, the senior IMD scientist, said that this month, rainfall-producing systems have not been favourable enough to induce good or widespread spells. “There were no low-pressure systems or enough Western Disturbances approaching the Delhi-NCR region. Also, the monsoon trough remained away from Delhi most of the time positioning itself on central and eastern parts of the country,” he said.
This August turns out to be the driest
This August has turned out to be the driest in terms of rainfall count, as the month has not seen a single heavy or good spell of rain except for some isolated spells or light showers.