The incessant rain brought down the day temperature to 23.4 degrees Celsius, 10 degrees below normal and the lowest maximum temperature recorded in October in at least 11 years.
The day-night range in temperatures was just 2.6 degrees, with the minimum temperature at 20.8 degrees Celsius.
Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, logged more than four times the amount of rainfall than the normal for the entire month in just two days. It recorded 25.3mm rainfall till 8.30am on Saturday and 43.9mm between 8.30am and 8.30pm. The cumulative rainfall measured 69.5mm till 8.30pm on Saturday against October’s normal of 15.1mm. Lodhi Road, Ayanagar and Palam recorded 36.8, 25.8 and 23.3mm, respectively, between 8.30am and 5.30pm.
“Moisture and wind convergence from both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bay of Bengal at a lower level, enhanced by mid- and upper-level western disturbance, is sustaining the rain,” explained RK Jenamani, senior scientist, India Meteorological Department.
“Due to the interaction between the western disturbance and the deep trough in lower-level easterly, there was continuous rain spell and overcast sky through the day. There was, therefore, no sun or solar heating during the day. Similarly, the overcast sky at night did not let any night radiational cooling and that is why there was minimum difference in the day and night temperatures,” said Jenamani.
The maximum temperature on Friday was 27.1 degrees Celsius, seven degrees below normal. The lowest maximum temperature in October last year was 23.9 degrees Celsius. Rainfall last October was excessive and 332% of the normal during the month.
A yellow alert is out for Sunday with the Met forecasting moderate rain or thundershowers in most places. The maximum and minimum temperatures are predicted to be around 24 and 21 degrees Celsius, respectively, on Sunday. The rain intensity will likely reduce from Monday with light rain expected at one or two places. There is a possibility of very light rain or drizzle on Tuesday.
The rain ensured Delhi’s air quality stayed in the ‘satisfactory’ category. The overall Air Quality Index of the capital was 56 on Saturday. According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the forecasting model which comes under the Union ministry of earth sciences, the air in the capital is likely to remain largely in the ‘satisfactory’ to ‘moderate’ categories over the next six days. It may improve to ‘good’ on Sunday.