More showers in store, ‘orange’ alert for today

Gurgaon: Several parts of the city witnessed light rain accompanied with thunderstorms on Friday. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the wet spell is likely to continue with light to moderate showers during the next three to four days. The department has issued a ‘orange’ alert for Saturday with a possibility of moderate rain and thundershowers.
On Friday, Gurgaon received 2.4mm of rain. So far, the city has received 382.7mm of rainfall against the season’s normal of 216.6mm. After witnessing a 59% rain deficit in June at just 17.2mm, it has recorded 365.5mm rain till July 30. As a result, Gurgaon has reported 77% excess cumulative rainfall between June 1 and July 30.
Neighboring Faridabad, meanwhile, has recorded 183.5mm rainfall against the season’s normal of 225.4mm, a departure of 19%. Till date, the districts that have recorded the most excess rain in the state are Jhajjar (158%), Fatehabad (145%) and Kaithal (135%). Panchkula, Chandigarh and Ambala have the most rain deficit at 51%, 34% and 21%, respectively. “While the monsoon activities began in mid-June, it remained dormant till July 10 due to various meteorological reasons. Now, the monsoon is active in almost the entire country,” an IMD official said.
On Friday, the city’s maximum temperature stood at 30.7 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 24.2 degrees.
Delhi recorded yet another spell of intense rain on Friday. Safdarjung, Delhi’s base station, recorded 42.8mm of rainfall till 5.30pm, while Lodhi Road received 62mm of rainfall. Safdarjung has so far recorded over 500mm rainfall in July, while the normal limit for the month is only 210.6mm.