GURUGRAM: A day’s showers – a 24-hour average of 29.4mm between Thursday and Friday -- almost wiped out a deficit that was around 30% until a few days back, Met department officials said, pointing at the uneven monsoon rains in the city this year.
Gurgaon’s rainfall is now in the ‘normal’ category – when the rains witnessed are between + and -19 % from the normal rainfall level for a specific period.
Data by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed that the city has received a cumulative rainfall of 158.1mm – a shortfall of 6% from the normal of 167.5mm for the month.
The deficit was 21% until Thursday (without taking into account the rain that day) and 31% on July 26.
Monsoon rains this year have been scattered and uneven. Until recently, most rainy days witnessed light drizzle with high humidity levels.
Thursday’s rainfall, one of the few bouts of moderate rain this month -- inundated key roads and brought traffic to a halt for hours in the city.
“Gurgaon has received some good rainfall in the past couple of days. Though these were not evenly distributed, the rains have substantially reduced the deficit, which is in normal range. In this monsoon season, most of the rainy spells are convective in nature, which resulted in good rains at one place while other areas may not receive the same amount of rain,” Manmohan Singh, director of IMD Chandigarh, said.
On Friday, residents woke up to light drizzle and cloudy skies. By around 4pm, the skies turned dark before rains poured over the city, prompting police to issue a traffic advisory to avoid unnecessary travel due to waterlogging.
Two days in a row, commuters were stuck on arterial roads and expressways in and around Gurgaon, this time around the rush hour in the evening. Traffic also crawled in areas such as Udyog Vihar, Sarhaul border, Narsinghpur, Malpura Mau road, Atul Kataria Chowk and the Bilaspur Chowk.
“Due to continuous rain, waterlogging on certain stretches of road, including the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway, has triggered congestion. Traffic movement has slowed down. Police teams are on the ground to manage movement,” said Subhash Boken, Gurgaon police spokesperson.
A commuter said he had to drive through knee-deep waters in Narsinghpur, on the service lane of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.
“Some people had to abandon their cars. It was a complete mess and there was not a single traffic cop or official who could be seen managing the situation. All agencies should be held responsible for this. Despite being fully aware that this situation occurs every monsoon, the authorities have done nothing to solve this problem,” said Sunil Singh, a resident of the city.
The other areas affected were IFFCO Chowk, Palam Vihar, Basai Chowk and Sheetla Mata Temple road.
Friday’s maximum temperature was 31.5 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season’s normal and an equal number below the previous day’s high. Similarly, the minimum temperature was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius, also a dip of 4 degrees from Thursday.
According to IMD projections, light to moderate rainfall is expected in the city on Saturday as well.
“Thereafter, rainfall activity will be reduced to scattered and isolated showers. There will be no significant change in temperature in the next 5 days,” Singh said.
Meteorologists say the pattern of monsoon rains has changed over the last few years. “Showers are uneven. Most days witness light rains, while a few spells are more intense. An area can get a few days’ worth of rain in just a few hours,” the IMD Chandigarh director added.
