New Delhi: Delhi recorded its highest January rainfall in four years since 2022 as heavy rain and thunderstorms battered parts of the national capital on Tuesday, dragging temperatures down sharply and, unusually, triggering a sudden deterioration in air quality, which plunged into the ‘very poor’ category.
With the latest spell of rain, Delhi’s monthly total rainfall for January has risen to 24 mm, making it the highest January total since 2022. The wettest January day in recent years remains January 8, 2022, when the city recorded 40.6 mm of rainfall.
This month, Delhi received 19.8 mm of rainfall on January 23, and Tuesday’s spell added 4.2 mm at Safdarjung, along with a trace of rain at other stations till 5.30 pm, taking the cumulative January rainfall to 24 mm, the highest for the month in four years, barring the 2022 peak event. At Safdarjung, considered Delhi’s base station, the maximum temperature settled at 16.9 degrees Celsius, 5.2 degrees Celsius below normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 8.0 degrees Celsius, 0.4 degrees Celsius below normal. “Although the conditions for a cold day were met, with the maximum temperature dropping 4.5 to 6.4 degrees below normal and the minimum falling below 10 degrees Celsius, the day cannot be classified as a cold day, as temperatures are expected to rise again tomorrow. This is the first day of satisfying the criteria,” an IMD official said.
According to IMD observations, the average rainfall recorded between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on January 27 stood at 4.2 mm at Safdarjung, 14.6 mm at Palam, 3.4 mm at Lodi Road, 14.4 mm at Ridge and 4.0 mm at Ayanagar, while no
rainfall was recorded at any station in the preceding 24 hours till 8.30 am.
Between the 2.30 pm-5.30 pm spell, rainfall tapered off, with Palam receiving 0.6 mm, Ridge 1.2 mm, Ayanagar 0.1 mm and Mayur Vihar 1.0 mm, while most other stations reported no rain. No rainfall data was available from Pusa and Najafgarh during the period.
For Wednesday, the minimum temperature is expected to rise to 12 degrees Celsius, and the maximum temperature is set to increase to 18 degrees Celsius.