Delhi sees wettest January in 4 years, February to start with rain

NEW DELHI: The capital logged 4.2 mm rain on Tuesday, taking the month's total to 25.3 mm and making it the wettest Jan in four years.

Though more rain is unlikely between Wednesday and Saturday, another spell is forecast for Feb 1.


While the city's base station, Safdarjung, received 4.2 mm rain from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm under the influence of a western disturbance, Palam and Ridge in north Delhi recorded 14.6 mm and 14.4 mm, respectively.

Parts of Noida were lashed by a brief hailstorm in the evening following thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds in the afternoon.

Delhi has already recorded 32.4% excess rainfall this month so far, the earlier spell coming on last Friday and Saturday. The previous Jan logged 8.3 mm, Jan 2024 witnessed just ‘trace' rainfall, while Jan 2023 and 2022 received 20.4 mm and 88.2 mm, respectively. The all-time high rainfall in Jan was 173.2 mm in 1885.

The rain and cloud cover brought down Tuesday's maximum temperature in Delhi to 16.9 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal. The minimum, however, rose to 8°C, from 4.2°C on Monday. The day temperature is expected to stay between 17°C and 19°C over the next two days and the minimum around 11 to 13°C on Wednesday. It may dip to around 5 to 7°C on Saturday, but may again rise to 12 to 14°C by next Monday.

Another western disturbance is expected to impact the region from the night of Jan 31. It may lead to one or two spells of light rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of up to 40 kmph on Feb 1, an IMD official said.

The air quality in Delhi worsened to very poor on Tuesday. According to Central Pollution Control Board, the city's 4pm air quality index (AQI), considered the day's standard reading, stood at 336, higher than 241 recorded a day earlier.

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System, which functions under the Union ministry of earth sciences, the air quality index is expected to improve to poor on Wednesday as a result of Tuesday's rain.

It is likely to remain within that bracket on Thursday before again worsening to very poor on Friday. The air quality is likely to hover between the two ranges in the subsequent six days.