Rain frequency puts July ’25 at 22nd rank in 125 yrs: Data

July 2025 may not go down as a particularly wet month for Delhi in terms of rainfall volume — but it stands out for how often it rained.

- Abhishek Jha

At least some part of the city received rain on 23 of the 31 days this month, making it the “22nd rainiest July month” since 1901 in terms of rainy days, according to gridded data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) analysed by Hindustan Times.

TO be sure, 1901 is the first year for which IMD has published a gridded data set.

While the gridded data for July 31 will become available only in the afternoon of July 31, it is expected to record rain, since IMD’s daily data corresponds to the 24-hour period ending 8.30am. That means showers seen after 8.30am on July 30 will be counted toward July 31— effectively confirming 23 days of rain this month.

Plenty of rainy days, but not much rain

Despite the high frequency of rain, the total rainfall this July has been relatively modest. Between July 1 and 30, Delhi recorded 150.5mm of rain — ranking 69th highest (or 57th lowest) for the month since 1901. The volume, therefore, doesn’t match the rank suggested by the number of rain days.