Localised showers drench north Delhi, rest of national capital remains dry

The weather stations at the Delhi Ridge and the adjoining Delhi University area recorded rainfall more than what the Safdarjung weather station, which provides a marker for the city, recorded this September so far. The weather station in the Delhi Ridge, which is a synoptic manual observatory, recorded 87 mm rainfall on Tuesday while the automatic weather station at Delhi University recorded 83.5 mm.

Much of this rainfall was recorded between 3.45 pm and 5.30 pm, according to the officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The two observatories are just about 3 km apart, officials said. They added, the southern parts of the city mostly remained dry.

While eight weather stations in Delhi, including Safdarjung, recorded no rainfall at all between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, two stations recorded only traces of rain, and Najafgarh recorded only light rainfall.

According to IMD officials, the localised heavy rainfall event was due to moisture-laden easterly or southeasterly winds that reached Delhi-NCR on account of a low-pressure area over northwest Bay of Bengal and the presence of a western disturbance. These weather systems also brought moderate to heavy rainfall to Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

Overcast skies and light to moderate rainfall remain on the forecast for Delhi Wednesday. Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon has begun withdrawing from Rajasthan. The IMD said in an update Tuesday that monsoon has withdrawn from parts of southwest Rajasthan and adjoining Kutch Tuesday.