NEW DELHI: Heavy rains in many parts of Delhi on Monday kept the mercury at a pleasant 26.1 degrees Celsius, 13 degrees below average for this time of the year, with the wet spell likely to continue for two more days owing to Western disturbances.
Delhi recorded 14.8 mm of rainfall on Monday while the minimum temperature was recorded at 19.6 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
It was the second coolest day of May in 13 years and also the second day on the trot where the maximum temperature settled at 10 degrees below normal during the summer season, which generally sees the mercury soaring during the month.
The city recorded 23.8 degrees Celsius, the lowest for May in the last 13 years, along with 120 mm of rainfall on May 20, 2021. On May 23, 2017, the city logged a high of 29 degrees Celsius.
According to weathermen, the rains are due to western disturbances and may continue for the next two days. “Due to western disturbances a three-day orange alert for rainfall has been issued for almost the entirety of North India. Rainfall in Delhi too will continue for the next three days,” said Naresh Kumar, IMD’s Senior Scientist.
While the showers improved the air quality to the satisfactory category as the AQI read 86, they also brought waterlogging and traffic woes for Delhiites who had to wade through knee-deep water to reach their destinations in several areas. Rainwater flooded Rajghat while there was waterlogging on several key stretches around Gandhi Nagar, Bhairon Mandir, Adchini, Lajpat Nagar, Sarai Kale Khan, Mehrauli Badarpur Road, Sadar Bazar, Pul Prahladpur underpass, Rao Tula Ram flyover, and Zakhira flyover.