The monsoon arrived in the national capital on Sunday, two days before its scheduled onset, bringing respite to Delhiites from scorching heat, even as a woman died due to electrocution amid rainfall.
The rains which started early morning brought the maximum temperature down to 29 degrees Celsius, eight notches below normal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi’s primary weather station, logged 48.3 mm rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Sunday, it said.
The rainfall also led to waterlogging and traffic congestion in some parts of the city. On Sunday, the southwest monsoon covered both Delhi and Mumbai together for the first time since June 21, 1961, the IMD said. While it hit the national capital two days before schedule, its entry into the financial capital is two weeks late, the Met office said.
“It is the first time since June 21, 1961, that the monsoon arrived in Delhi and Mumbai at the same time,” said DS Pai, a senior scientist at the IMD.
Meanwhile, the Safdarjung Observatory recorded 2.4 mm rainfall, Palam 7.1 mm, Lodhi Road 1.7 mm, Ridge 7.4 mm and Ayanagar recorded 4 mm rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Sunday.
The Met office termed the monsoon activity over Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi as “vigorous”.
According to the IMD, monsoon activity is considered “vigorous” if the recorded rainfall is more than four times the normal or it is fairly widespread.
In a related incident, a 34-year-old woman died of electrocution after accidentally coming in contact with a live wire at the New Delhi railway station complex on Sunday morning amid rainfall which also led to waterlogging there.
According to traffic police, due to rain, a branch of a tree fell on the road in Plaza Market, Vasundhra Enclave leading to obstruction in traffic movement for a brief period.
According to data shared by the central control room of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, due to the monsoon, several trees were uprooted in Janakpuri, Swaroop Nagar and Trilokpuri, while waterlogging was reported from Timarpur in Civil Lines, Janakpuri, Firni Road, Friends Colony, and Railway Colony.
Waterlogging was also witnessed in parts of Karol Bagh, Najafgarh, Sainik Farm and Dwarka, according to the data.
Meanwhile, a balcony shared by two adjacent shops in southwest Delhi’s R K Puram area also collapsed. However, no one was injured in the incident as the shops were closed, a police officer said.
On Sunday, the minimum temperature settled at 23.1 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, the IMD said.
The relative humidity oscillated between 73 per cent and 100 per cent, it said.
For Monday, the IMD has predicted generally cloudy skies with light to moderate rainfall and thundershowers and said the maximum and minimum temperatures would hover around 30 and 23 degrees Celsius, respectively.On Saturday, the city recorded maximum and minimum temperatures at 37.2 and 30.4 degrees Celsius, respectively.
