New Delhi: The city received widespread rain Monday — its intensity varied from ‘heavy’ in most of the northwest to ‘light’ in parts of the east — leading to waterlogging and disruption of traffic and flight operations.Light to moderate rain is likely Tuesday, after which the rest of the week may experience a dry spell, the Met department said, attributing the downpour to a confluence of two weather conditions.Fifteen Delhi-bound flights were diverted due to the inclement weather, while according to FlightRadar24, a private website, over 400 flights were delayed at IGI Airport throughout Monday.Between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, logged 34.6mm of rain. At 72.5mm, Janakpuri received the highest rainfall, followed by Ayanagar (69.1mm). Palam got 58.2mm, Lodhi Road 41.7mm and Ridge 43.2mm. Mayur Vihar in east Delhi received just 9.5mm.Rainfall between 2.5mm and 15.5mm is considered ‘light’, 15.6mm and 64.6mm ‘moderate’, and between 64.5mm and 115.5mm is classified as ‘heavy’.“Delhi recorded moderate rainfall in most places and heavy showers in isolated areas. Intense rainfall with thunderstorm/lightning occurred between noon and 1pm,” said Krishna Mishra, scientist, India Meteorological Department (IMD).A middle and upper-level western disturbance interacting with a lower tropospheric trough extending from a low-pressure area over Gangetic West Bengal up to southwest UP may have caused this intense rainfall, he said.Another spell of light to moderate rainfall in most places with heavier rainfall in isolated areas is likely over Delhi at night, he said, adding the trough stretching from north Odisha to north India may impact Tuesday’s weather as well.Though not much rain is likely in Delhi for the rest of the week, parts of east and central India may experience some showers, said Mahesh Palawat, vice-chairperson, Skymet.The rain brought down Delhi’s temperature. In a rare phenomenon, the mercury fell to 25.4 degrees Celsius at 2.30pm Monday, lower than the day’s minimum temperature of 27.8°C, uploaded on IMD’s website at 8.30am.The maximum at Safdarjung was 32.3°C, two notches below normal and lower than 33.9°C, recorded a day earlier. The Met expects a rise in the maximum temperature, which is likely to hover between 34°C and 36°C Tuesday.The air quality was ‘moderate’ with an air quality index (AQI) reading of 111 Monday, against 96 (‘satisfactory’) Sunday.
