Delhi records highest single day of rain in Dec since 1923

The Capital logged 41.2 mm of rain in the 24 hours till 8.30 am on Saturday, IMD said.

The Capital logged 41.2 mm of rain in the 24 hours till 8.30 am on Saturday, marking the highest single day December rainfall in 101 years since 1923 and the second highest in recorded history since 1901. The exceptional rainfall comes as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts “cold wave” conditions likely to commence over north India from Sunday.

Heavy rains lashed Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) on Friday morning. (Sakib Ali/HT)

The weather department has issued an orange alert for Sunday and yellow alert for the subsequent two days in Delhi NCR, predicting spells of fog for which it advised citizens to be on watch.

“A spell of very light rain or drizzle was observed in some isolated places. An orange alert has been issued for Sunday, warning people of the possibility of a dense fog in most places and very dense fog in isolated places,” said an IMD official.

According to IMD data, Delhi’s Safdarjung observatory, which provides representative weather data for the city, recorded 41.2 mm of rain in 24 hours till 8.30am Saturday. While it has been raining in Delhi since Thursday night, no rain was recorded after Saturday morning.

The city’s highest single-day December rainfall remains 75.7 mm, recorded on December 3, 1923. Saturday’s precipitation marks the second-highest, while the third-highest was 34.7 mm recorded on December 24, 1967.

This month has already secured its place in weather records — December 2024 witnessed the fifth-highest monthly rainfall, with total precipitation of 42.8 mm. The highest December rainfall was recorded in 1923 at 77.2 mm, followed by 71.8 mm in 1997, 69.5 mm in 1967, and 68.1 mm in 1936.

While Safdarjung recorded no rain on Saturday between 8.30am and 5.30pm, other weather stations showed varying measurements. Palam and Ridge recorded trace amounts of rain, while Lodhi Road recorded 0.1 mm during the day. Some parts of Delhi and NCR also experienced hailstorm around 2am.

Gurugram, meanwhile, witnessed 30mm of rainfall in 24 hours till 8.30am Saturday.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president at Skymet, explained the weather pattern: “The dense fog will form because of the moisture from the moderate spells of widespread rain that Delhi experienced on Friday, due to a western disturbance interacting with easterly winds. There might be some wind of moderate speed 8-9 kmph, aiding fog formation.”

He added that strong northwesterlies are likely to start impacting the region from Monday, leading to a sharp dip in minimum temperatures as they bring in the cold from mountains recently covered in snow.

Delhi’s minimum temperature on Saturday increased to 12.7°C, which was 5.9°C above normal, compared to 11°C the previous day. The maximum temperature also saw a slight rise to 15.8°C, remaining 4.6°C below normal and 1.2°C higher than the previous day.

Despite Delhi’s maximum temperature being more than 4.5°C below normal for this time of year, Saturday did not qualify as a cold day since the minimum temperature remained above 10°C. The difference between the maximum and minimum temperature was approximately three degrees, a pattern observed across various weather stations in the city for the second straight day.

Separately, Gautam Budh Nagar, comprising of Noida, and Greater Noida, logged a minimum temperature of 12.4°C, while the maximum was 14.7°C on Saturday. Gurugram, similarly, recorded a minimum temperature of 13.2°C, with the maximum at 15°C on Saturday.

IMD has issued a yellow alert for Monday and Tuesday, warning of moderate to dense fog. Sunday’s maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be around 17°C and 9°C respectively. “Cold wave conditions are likely to start from Sunday. The maximum will go up slightly and minimum will come down again,” said a Met official.