While the day-long showers brought down the temperature by seven degrees, to 27.5 degrees Celsius, they also caused massive traffic snarls and waterlogging in various parts of the city
Delhiites got a welcome respite from sultry weather on Friday as late monsoon activity over Madhya Pradesh and winds from the north joined forces, leading to a steady rainfall across the city and its suburbs throughout the day.
While the day-long showers brought down the temperature by seven degrees, to 27.5 degrees Celsius, they also caused massive traffic snarls and waterlogging in various parts of the city.
Friday's rainfall was the first proper monsoon spell in what has been a hot and humid September in Delhi, with day temperatures reaching to 36 degrees Celsius and night temperatures hovering around 30 degrees Celsius. Before Friday, the rainfall recorded on September 6 at the Safdarjung observatory, a paltry 6mm, was considered the representative in the city.
According to the Meteorological office, the nodal Safdarjung observatory recorded 18.4mm rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. The Palam observatory at the airport recorded 17mm rainfall while the ones at Lodhi Road, Ridge, and Ayanagar recorded 22.3mm, 22.7mm, and 24mm rain, respectively.
The Met officials said that Saturday, too, will bring rainfall to the city. Independent meteorologists said this could well be the last monsoon spell in the city this year.
Along with Delhi-NCR, hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan also received heavy rainfall on Friday.
"There is a well-marked low-pressure area persisting over central parts of north Madhya Pradesh and neighbourhood since Thursday. It has combined with a western disturbance, resulting in the rainfall. These are not the receding rains but are a part of the monsoon weather system. We are expecting monsoon to withdraw from September 28 onward," said M Mohapatra, Director General, Meteorology, National Weather Forecasting Centre, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi.
The monsoon withdrawal has been delayed by three weeks this year. "The current weather system has brought good rains over northwest and northern plains. We are expecting the monsoon to withdraw in the next 4-5 days. It is still active due to the incursion of moist winds from the Bay of Bengal branch," said Mahesh Palawat, Chief Meteorologist, Skymet weather services.
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