Commuters wade through a waterlogged area following heavy rains in New Delhi on Saturday| Photo:PTI
New Delhi:A highly unusual monsoon season this year has yielded 1,100 mm of rainfall in Delhi so far, the highest in 46 years, and almost double the precipitation recorded last year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.
The figures are subject to change as more rainfall is predicted in the city during the day.
The forecourt of the Delhi airport was waterlogged for a "short period" Saturday morning due to sudden heavy rains, its operator DIAL said.
Sources said five flights were diverted from the airport this morning due to the bad weather conditions.
"The Safdarjung Observatory, which is considered the official marker for the city, had gauged 1,150 mm of rainfall in the 1975 monsoon season. This year, the precipitation has already hit the 1,100-mm mark and the season has not ended yet," an IMD official said.
Normally, Delhi records 648.9 mm of rainfall during the monsoon season, according to the IMD.
Between June 1, when the monsoon season starts, and September 11, the city normally gets 590.2 mm of rainfall.
The monsoon withdraws from Delhi by September 25.
"Light to moderate rain is likely in the next two days. Another wet spell is predicted around September 17-18," the official told PTI.
In 2003, the national capital had received 1,050 mm of rainfall.
Delhi gauged 636 mm, 544 mm, 876 mm, 370.8 mm and 505.5 mm during the monsoon season in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.
It recorded 524.7 mm rainfall in 2016; 641.3 mm in 2017; 762.6 mm in 2018; 404.3 mm in 2019 and 576.5 mm in 2020, according to IMD data.
It has been a bountiful September for Delhi, with 343.6 mm of rainfall recorded so far this month, which is the highest in at least 12 years, according to data available on the IMD's website.
The September rainfall this year has been in marked contrast to the last year, when the city got a meagre 20.9 mm precipitation in the month against the normal of 129.8 mm.
Delhi recorded more than 100 mm of rainfall on two consecutive days at the start of the month -- 112.1 mm on September 1 and 117.7 mm on September 2. On Saturday (September 11), it recorded 94.7 mm precipitation.
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 string of rainy days gave 507.1 mm rainfall in Delhi, which was nearly 141 percent 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.
The city recorded just 10 rainy days in August, the lowest in seven years, and a cumulative rainfall of 214.5 mm, lower than the average of 247 mm.
Waterlogging in several areas, traffic disrupted
According to civic agencies, several areas in the city including Moti Bagh, RK Puram, Madhu Vihar, Hari Nagar, Rohtak Road, Badarpur, Som Vihar, Ring Road near IP Station, Vikas Marg, Sangam Vihar, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Pul Prahladpur Underpass, Munirka, Rajpur Khurd, Nangloi and Kirari also witnessed waterlogging.
People posted pictures and videos of waterlogged streets on social media.
In a video on Twitter purportedly showing waterlogging in Madhu Vihar, some DTC cluster buses could be seen standing in the water, and other commuters manoeuvring their vehicles through the inundated road.
Twitter users also posted videos of waterlogging in the Sadar Bazar area, near Minto bridge, ITO, and Nangloi flyover.
Officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) said the filed staff is on the ground to pump out water from streets.
"Due to heavy rain in the early morning (on Saturday), waterlogging occurred at a number of places. We are tackling those issues on priority. Our staff is present round the clock to monitor the situation," a PWD official said.
The Delhi Traffic also posted tweets informing people about the stretches where they are expected to witness waterlogging.
"Traffic Alert. Traffic is heavy due to water logging at GGR/PDR. Kindly Avoid the Stretch," it said in a tweet around 11 am.
"Traffic Alert. Water logging near WHO on Ring Road. Kindly Avoid the Stretch," it said in another tweet.
PTI
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