This December already the 5th wettest ever

A persistent patter of rain that continued through Friday to soak Delhi and its surrounding regions, delivering an unusually wet December day that shattered long-standing rainfall records and highlighted the unpredictability of the season.

- Aheli Das

By the end of the day, the city had recorded 42.8mm of rainfall this month, making it the fifth wettest December in Delhi's recorded history and the rainiest since 1997, or in 27 years, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The rainfall, largely attributed to an active western disturbance interacting with easterly winds, transformed the usual dry chill of December into an anomaly.

Safdarjung, Delhi's primary weather observatory, recorded 30.2mm of rain in just nine hours between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Friday. This made it the wettest single-day spell in five years, according to IMD data. The city saw 33.5mm rain on December 13, 2019, according to IMD records.

Other weather stations also recorded similarly consistent showers through the day. Pusa logged 35mm of rain between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Delhi University recorded 39mm, Lodhi Road recorded 34.2mm, Ridge saw 33.4mm, while Palam and Ayanagar recorded 31.4mm and 18.1mm respectively.

IMD data shows that December's total rainfall this year has reached levels not seen in nearly three decades.