Heavy to very heavy rain warning in Delhi for the next three days, Meteorological Department issued alert, also gave the reason
The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted heavy rains in the national capital Delhi and surrounding areas for the next three days. Meteorologists have issued an orange alert for Delhi-Chandigarh and Haryana. There is a possibility of 64.5 (heavy) to 204.4 mm (very heavy) rain in these three states / union territories till July 1. Due to heavy rains on Friday (27 June), the problem of waterlogging persists in many parts of Delhi. Meanwhile, if there is more rain, the problems of the people of Delhi may increase.
The Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for heavy rains in 23 states including Delhi and a red alert for Arunachal Pradesh. On Friday, Delhi’s Shapdarganj received the maximum rainfall and the maximum waterlogging is also here.
Meteorologist failed
Weather scientists have said that forecasting models “failed” to predict the extreme weather event in Delhi on Friday morning when a record 228.1 mm of rain was recorded. The amount is three times the June average of 74.1 mm and the highest for the month since 1936. An official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that monsoon winds clashed with parts of a western disturbance, causing heavy rain in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Some scientists believe that the downpour may have been caused by a thunderstorm in north Delhi. On June 26, the IMD had forecast light to moderate rain and thunderstorms with gusty winds on June 28.
Heavy rain forecast on 29-30 June
The weather department said on Thursday afternoon that a system extended from the cyclonic circulation over central Gujarat to the western part of Bihar at lower tropospheric levels. “The east-west flow is likely to strengthen during the week and rainfall will increase over North India,” the IMD said on YouTube. The extended range forecast issued by the IMD on Thursday night predicted “widespread light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and lightning over northwest and east India during the next five days.” The IMD also predicted “very heavy rain” in Delhi on June 29 and June 30, but no torrential rain was expected on Friday morning.
There was a lot of rain before the alert
At 4:58 am on Friday, the IMD issued an alert, saying “light to moderate rain with heavy rains would occur over entire Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR), Sonipat, Kharkhoda, Jhajjar, Sohna, Palwal, Baraut, Bagpat, Khekra, Pilkhua and Secunderabad during the next two hours and winds with speed of 20-40 kmph would occur over some areas.” The IMD later said that the Safdarjung Observatory recorded 148.5 mm rainfall between 2:30 am and 5:30 am, indicating that a lot of rain had already occurred before the IMD issued the alert.
Clouds formed by the stream coming from Madhya Pradesh
Moreover, the IMD announced the arrival of monsoon in Delhi on Friday afternoon, while less than 15 hours earlier it had predicted that the system bringing initial rains would reach Delhi within two to three days. An IMD official, on condition of anonymity, said, “There was not much rainfall due to the eastern branch of the monsoon up to West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The eastern branch monsoon was progressing slowly. But suddenly a stream came from Madhya Pradesh. No one expected such a large amount of moisture.” The official said, “The model could not capture it. Also, clouds started forming in the evening and intensified with time. It is not easy to predict thunderstorms in advance.”