Southwest monsoon bids adieu to Delhi: IMD says rainfall normal during monsoon, deficit in September

Safdarjung recorded deficits in rainfall in August and September, while June and July saw an excess.

Of the nine districts in the city, West Delhi and Northeast Delhi have seen deficits in rainfall this season, while Central Delhi experienced an excess. (File photo)

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The southwest monsoon withdrew from Delhi on Saturday, leaving behind a deficit in rain for September. The city, however, experienced ‘normal’ rainfall this season. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, the Safdarjung weather station, the city’s base observatory, recorded 660.8 mm rainfall this season, which is close to the normal of 640.4 mm till September 30.

Safdarjung recorded deficits in rainfall in August and September, while June and July saw an excess. In September, the observatory recorded only 82.7 mm of rainfall over 10 rainy days, which is 33 percent short of the normal of 123.5mm. August and September did not experience heavy rainfall.

Meanwhile, the IMD on Saturday said that the southwest monsoon has withdrawn from all of Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana and Delhi, and some parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, western UP, western MP and Eastern Rajasthan.

IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava said that a western disturbance, easterly winds associated with the monsoon trough and a cyclonic circulation, contributed to some rainfall in September, but beyond that, there was very little activity.

The withdrawal of the monsoon from the national capital this year is a little after the normal date of September 25. The city as a whole, from June 1 to September 30, has recorded 542.2 mm of rainfall, which is close to the normal of 544.3 mm for this period. This is more than the 451.4 mm of rainfall recorded in 2022 monsoon, and 467.7 mm recorded in 2020. In 2021, Delhi saw a lot more rain – 744 mm — in the season.

Of the nine districts in the city, West Delhi and Northeast Delhi have seen deficits in rainfall this season, while Central Delhi experienced an excess. All other districts – East Delhi, New Delhi, North Delhi, Northwest Delhi, South Delhi and Southwest Delhi – have recorded rainfall in the normal range.

A drier-than-usual September also meant that the average maximum temperature was 35.6 degrees Celsius, which is more than the 34.3 degrees recorded in September last year, and the average of 33.2 degrees recorded in September 2021. The mercury hit a high of 40.1 degrees Celsius this September.

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Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Saturday said that the AQI in Delhi from January to September this year has been the best in the last six years, except for 2020. The daily average AQI was 167 during this period in 2023, which is better than the 184 recorded in 2022, 180 in 2021, 188 in 2019 and 193 in 2018.

CAQM added that “favourable meteorological conditions, continual ground-level efforts, actions by various stakeholder agencies and ongoing monitoring and enforcement actions” have helped ensure better air quality this year.

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