Temperature falls below 9 degrees as Chandigarh sees wettest November day in a decade

The final of the Administrator Cup of All India Football Tournament which was scheduled to be held in Sector 46 on Thursday was cancelled due to the rain. The preparations for Kalagram Craft Mela at Kalagram were affected too. The Craft Mela is expected to be inaugurated on Friday. Instances of fall of tree branches along with uprooting of a tree in Sector 19A were reported on Thursday. The electricity supply to a particular area in Sector 19A was affected as the uprooted tree had damaged the electricity lines.

“The light rainfall was expected in Chandigarh but its density increased all of a sudden, making it the moderate rainfall. There are two reasons for it. First: Low pressure in the air. Second: Wind remains calm and does not move fastly ahead making the clouds to rain at one place. Cold will increase in the coming days. Moderate to dense fog is expected. The rain started last night with 15.5 mm received by 8.30 am today. Rainfall measuring 15.5mm is in the light rainfall category. It increased to around 54.5mm by 5.30 pm today. We have issued alerts for further rain in Chandigarh and neighbouring areas,” said Manmohan Singh, director, Chandigarh Meteorological Department.

While the rain is expected to continue for the next 12 hours, the weather department has predicted foggy weather in the coming days, and the mercury is expected to fall further.

The horticulture wing of the local administration received half a dozen calls related to fallen trees and branches due to the rain on Thursday. Several underpasses, including the CTU underpass in Phase-1 and the Industrial Area, experienced waterlogging, leading the traffic police to issue advisories for commuters.

Of the 40 locations prone to waterlogging in Chandigarh, 30 are on main roads, including Dakshin Marg, Madhya Marg, Himalayan Marg, Vikas Marg, Udyog Path and Sarovar Path. Additionally, 10 locations within sectors, including four underpasses, Dumping Ground, Dadumajra, Central Mall Road towards Wave Cinema in Phase-1 Industrial Area, and the dividing road between ISBT-17 and Parade Ground in Sector 17, were affected too.

“So far, we have not come across any major waterlogging problems but certain underpasses were filled with water, impacting traffic flow during the rain,” said a traffic police officer.