IMD Clarifies: Last Week's Delhi Deluge Not a Cloudburst

The India Meteorological Department clarified that the heavy rainfall in Delhi last week was not a cloudburst. The intense weather was due to large-scale monsoonal systems. The Safdarjung Observatory recorded 228.1 mm rainfall, the highest in June for 88 years.

The torrential rainfall that paralyzed Delhi last week was not a result of a cloudburst, clarified the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday.

During a press briefing, IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra specified that the Safdarjung Observatory recorded 91 mm of rainfall between 5 am and 6 am on June 28. The Lodhi Road weather station reported 64 mm from 5 am to 6 am and 89 mm from 6 am to 7 am.

''These readings do not qualify as cloudbursts but were very close to one,'' Mohapatra stated. The IMD explained that multiple large-scale monsoonal systems led to mesoscale convective activity over Delhi NCR, generating intense thunderstorms and heavy rain. Enhanced thermodynamic instability in the atmosphere further contributed to these conditions.

The Safdarjung Observatory logged 228.1 mm of rain in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 am on Friday, exceeding the June average by over three times and marking the highest rainfall for the month since 1936. The IMD categorizes very heavy rainfall as an amount between 124.5 and 244.4 mm in a day.

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