Delhi has already received more rain than the weather department had predicted. Now the department has issued an orange alert for three days. Heavy rain is expected in Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh.
The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted heavy rains in the national capital Delhi and surrounding areas for the next three days. Meteorologists have issued an orange alert for Delhi-Chandigarh and Haryana. There is a possibility of 64.5 (heavy) to 204.4 mm (very heavy) rain in these three states / union territories till July 1. Due to heavy rains on Friday (27 June), the problem of waterlogging persists in many parts of Delhi. Meanwhile, if there is more rain, the problems of the people of Delhi may increase.
The Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert regarding heavy rains in 23 states including Delhi and has issued a red alert for Arunachal Pradesh. On Friday, Shapdarganj in Delhi received the most rain and the situation of maximum waterlogging is also here.
VIDEO | Rain lashes several parts of Delhi. Visuals from Tilak Nagar.
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/aflZOpuDrg
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 29, 2024
Weather scientists fail
Weather scientists have said that forecasting models “failed” to predict the extreme weather event in Delhi on Friday morning when a record 228.1 mm of rain was recorded. This amount is three times more than the average of 74.1 mm for June and the highest for this month since 1936. An official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that monsoon winds clashed with parts of a western disturbance, causing heavy rains in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Some scientists believe that the torrential rains may have been caused by a thunderstorm in north Delhi. On June 26, the IMD had forecast light to moderate rain and thunderstorms with strong winds on June 28.
तथा 30 जुलाई, 2024 को कुछ स्थानों पर भारी (64.5-115.5 मिलीमीटर) से बहुत भारी (115.5-204.4 मिलीमीटर) वर्षा होने की संभावना है।
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) June 28, 2024
Heavy rain forecast on June 29-30
The Meteorological Department said on Thursday afternoon that a system extends from the cyclonic circulation over central Gujarat to the western part of Bihar at the lower tropospheric level. “The east-west flow is likely to strengthen during the week and rainfall will increase over North India,” the IMD said on its YouTube channel. The extended range forecast issued by the IMD on Thursday night predicted “widespread light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and lightning over northwest and east India during the next five days.” The IMD also predicted “very heavy rain” in Delhi on June 29 and June 30, but no torrential rain was expected on Friday morning.
A lot of rain had already occurred before the alert
At 4:58 am on Friday, the IMD issued an alert, stating that “during the next two hours, light to moderate rain with heavy rain is likely over entire Delhi and some places over the National Capital Region (NCR), Sonipat, Kharkhoda, Jhajjar, Sohna, Palwal, Baraut, Baghpat, Khekra, Pilkhua and Secunderabad and winds blowing at a speed of 20-40 kmph will occur.” The IMD later said that the Safdarjung Observatory recorded 148.5 mm rainfall between 2:30 am and 5:30 am, indicating that a lot of rain had already occurred before the IMD issued the alert.
Amount of Rainfall observed over Delhi during 0830 hours IST of 27.06.2024 to 0530 hours IST of 28.06.2024:
Safdarjung-154 mm
Palam-93 mm pic.twitter.com/Eh6rlLJoNY— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) June 28, 2024
Clouds formed due to stream from Madhya Pradesh
Moreover, the IMD announced the arrival of monsoon in Delhi on Friday afternoon, while less than 15 hours earlier it had predicted that the system bringing initial rain would reach Delhi within two to three days. An IMD official, on condition of anonymity, said, “There was not much rainfall due to the eastern branch of the monsoon up to West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The monsoon of the eastern branch was moving slowly. But suddenly a stream came from Madhya Pradesh. No one expected such a large amount of moisture.” The official said, “The model could not catch it. Also, clouds started forming in the evening and became stronger with time. It is not easy to predict thunderstorms in advance.”
