The last few days of August came as a boon for Delhiites in terms of rain and drop in temperatures. The city received about 20 mm of rain in the last 3 days of the month, taking the total monthly rainfall figure to 139.8 mm.
But this figure is still far behind the monthly average of 253.4 mm, which clearly explains how the weather in Delhi has been this August. Out of 11 rainy days (2.5 mm and above) the city has observed only 4 days of Monsoon rain.
From the 12th till the 28th of August there wasn’t any rain witnessed in the city, which makes it the longest spell (17 days) of dry weather in Delhi. There has been only three occasions when the city has recorded double digit rainfall during the month. On 3rd August the Safdarjung Observatory had recorded 38 mm of rain, while 82 mm of rain was recorded on the 11th of August and 10 mm on 30th August. This shows that rainfall was not evenly distributed in space and time.
Due to lack of rain temperatures were also on a record breaking spree. The Safdarjung Observatory on 26th August had broken 20-year-old record by observing a maximum of 39.4°C. Maximums were consistently recording 5-6 degrees above normal before the spell of rain on the 28th of August.
Forecast of more rain
However, September has started off on a good note. In a span of 24 hours, from 8.30 am on Sunday the city has recorded 35.8 mm of rain. And according to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, the city will continue to receive rain for a week. On the 4th and 5th September there could be some good rain in Delhi say Skymet forecasters.
September is the retreating phase of the Monsoon therefore the average monthly rainfall for the month is 120.9 mm, far below August rainfall of 253.4 mm.
