Monsoon: 3 districts in Delhi record "deficit" rainfall

Monsoon: 3 districts in Delhi record "deficit" rainfall
News Representation Image Source: Google

New Delhi: Three districts in Delhi have recorded "deficit" or "large deficit" rainfall, while four districts have gauged "excess" precipitation so far this monsoon season, according to India Meteorological Department data.

Only northeast Delhi has recorded "large deficit" rainfall -- 154mm against the normal of 491.6mm since June 1 -- when the monsoon season starts.

East Delhi has gauged 297.8mm rainfall so far, which is 39 per cent less than normal. South Delhi (371.6mm) has also recorded 24 per cent less precipitation till now.

On an average, the capital has received 431mm against the normal of 412.1mm precipitation since June 1.

Central Delhi, which was the most rain-deficient district in India till July 11, has recorded 26 per cent more rainfall -- 617.1mm against the long-period average of 491.6mm.

Only north Delhi has received "large excess" rainfall -- 677.7mm against the long-period average of 396.7mm. New Delhi has gauged 497.6mm precipitation, 39 per cent more than the usual amount.

Northwest Delhi has recorded 442.4mm rainfall so far, which is 31 per cent more than normal, while southwest Delhi (465.8mm) has got 17 per cent more rain than the average.

The national capital had recorded 34.8mm rainfall against the normal of 65.5mm in June. In July, it received 507.1 mm rainfall, which was nearly 141 per cent above the long-period average of 210.6 mm. It was also the maximum rainfall in the month since July 2003, and the second highest ever.

Despite the monsoon embracing Delhi only on July 13, making it the most-delayed in 19 years, the capital had recorded 16 rainy days in the month, the maximum in the last four years.

The weather department has forecast normal rainfall -- 95 to 106 percent of the long-period average -- for Delhi in August.

Normally, the capital gauges 247.7mm rainfall in August.

The capital witnessed a 10-day-long dry spell, the longest in the month in four years, after the capital and the adjoining regions in northwest India entered a break monsoon phase, the second this season, on August 10.

The IMD has now forecast moderate to isolated heavy rainfall in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi till August 23 with the revival of the monsoon.

Weather experts said good rainfall in the last 10 days of the month is expected to cover the precipitation deficit in the capital.

During the monsoon season, there are spells when the monsoon trough shifts closer to the foothills of Himalayas, leading to a sharp decline in rainfall over most parts of the country.

However, rainfall increases along the foothills of Himalayas, northeast India and parts of the southern peninsula.

The IMD measures monsoon performance in five categories -- large excess (rainfall is above 60 per cent of normal), excess (20 per cent to 59 per cent more than average), normal (minus 19 to 19 per cent of normal), deficit (minus 20 per cent to minus 59 percent) and large deficit (60 per cent below normal).