Another extreme weather event as Delhi eclipses January rain record

The spell of extreme or unusual weather events occurring almost every month in the national capital has continued, with Delhi breaking its all-time rainfall record for January after receiving an additional 19.1mm of rain between 8:30pm on Saturday and 8:30am on Sunday.

With this latest spell, Delhi has got 88.2mm of rainfall so far in January, beating the previous record for the month (79.7mm) set in 1989, data maintained by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) between 1901 and 2022 shows. And there are still eight days to go in the month.

However, IMD has forecast no rain for the city till January 29, and said the impact of colder winds from snow-clad hills will lead to a drop in the minimum temperature, which is expected to hover around 6-7 degrees Celsius in the next five days. Meanwhile, the maximum temperature could also hover around the 16-degree mark for the next three days, before a gradual rise to 17 or 18 degrees. This could mean that ‘cold day’ conditions persist in parts of the Capital.

Met officials said Delhi has already recorded six western disturbances (WD) so far this month, with the last two, including the latest spell this weekend, among the most active seen in January in years.

“Last weekend, we saw over 40mm of rainfall at almost all stations, and this was the most active western disturbance of this winter season. Similarly, the latest western disturbance (WD) was also fairly active, and has brought moderate rainfall at the Safdarjung and Palam stations,” said RK Jenamani, scientist at IMD.

He added that though six to seven WDs in January have been recorded in the past too, Delhi rarely sees them operating at such a high intensity. “This time, the frequency of WDs has not been the difference, but the intensity has. We normally see one active spell like this and even then, the rainfall is not much. This time around, we have seen two active spells with both spells bringing moderate rainfall, leading to several records tumbling,” Jenamani said.

While no rainfall was recorded after Sunday morning, the Safdarjung station recorded 19.7mm between 8:30pm on Saturday and 8:30am on Sunday. It was 28.4mm at Palam, 27mm at Lodhi road, 25mm at Ayanagar and 17.8mm at Ridge during this period. IMD classifies rainfall as “light” when it is between 2.5mm and 15.5mm, as “moderate” when it is between 15.6 and 64.4mm, and as ‘heavy’ when it is above 64.5mm in a single day.

Delhi’s maximum temperature remained low on Sunday, and was recorded at just 14.9 degrees Celsius – six degrees below normal for this time of the season. It was 14.7 degrees on Saturday, which is the lowest so far this winter. The minimum, meanwhile, was 10.5 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal. Delhi’s lowest maximum was 14.2 degrees at Mayur Vihar, however it was not classified as a “cold day” by IMD because the minimum temperature was not below 10 degrees Celsius.

A “cold day” is when the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees or more below normal, along with the minimum being below the 10-degree Celsius mark.

Delhi has only recorded six days this month where the maximum temperature was above normal. Till January 23, Delhi’s average maximum temperature was 18 degrees, 1.9 degrees below the normal average of 19.9 degrees.

The trend in the Capital shows that 2022 has started exactly where 2021 had stopped -- breaking weather records every month.

Not only did Delhi see extreme cold waves at the start and end of last year, it witnessed an intense summer, with a “severe heatwave” recorded in June, while Delhi recorded its second warmest February in the last 120 years. March was little different, bringing the hottest day that month in the last 76 years, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows.

It also saw an intense monsoon that continued well into late October as the city recorded 1,512.4mm of rainfall till December 29, the second highest ever, behind 1,534.3mm in 1933.

CLEAR REPUBLIC DAY: IMD

IMD on Sunday said there will be no rain and negligible impact of fog at India Gate during the Republic Day parade on January 26, adding that while a shallow fog is expected in the morning hours, visibility will not fall below 500 metres.In its forecast for India Gate on Sunday, IMD said the maximum is expected to hover between 17 and 19 degrees Celsius, while the minimum is expected to be around 5 and 7 degrees.

On Monday, however, a moderate fog is forecast during the day, with “cold day” conditions expected at a few places. The maximum could hover around 16 degrees, while the minimum is expected to be 7 degrees Celsius.

The rain over the weekend has also improved Delhi’s air quality, which dropped to the lower end of the “poor” category on Sunday. Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 202, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s 4 pm bulletin, a major improvement from 316 (very poor) on Saturday.

A seventh western disturbance for the month is forecast in the northern plains on January 28, but IMD scientists said its impact over Delhi will be negligible. “No rain is likely at the moment, but it will lead to an increase in the maximum and minimum temperature,” said a Met official.