Delhi weather: February to begin with rain; January turns wettest in 4 years after 3 rainy days

Delhi rain

• Delhi saw its wettest January in four years with 25.3 mm rainfall recorded
• Daytime temperatures dropped to 16.9°C, five degrees below normal
• Air quality worsened to 'very poor' despite rainfall, AQI reached 336 on Tuesday

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Delhi recorded 4.2 mm of rainfall on Tuesday, pushing the total rainfall for January to 25.3 mm and making it the wettest January the city has seen in the last four years. The rain was caused by extremely aggressive western disturbance that affected large parts of north India and brought cloudy skies and cooler weather to the capital.

Although rainfall occurred on just three days, all within the last five days, it was enough to make January unusually wet. The weather department has said that no major rainfall is likely between Wednesday and Saturday, but another spell of rain is expected on February 1.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Safdarjung, Delhi’s base weather station, received 4.2 mm of rain between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Tuesday. Other parts of the city saw much heavier rainfall. Palam recorded 14.6 mm, while the Ridge area in north Delhi received 14.4 mm. With this, Delhi has already recorded 32.4% excess rainfall for the month.

In comparison, January last year saw just 8.3 mm of rain, while January 2024 recorded only trace rainfall. January 2023 and 2022 had 20.4 mm and 88.2 mm of rain, respectively. The highest January rainfall ever recorded in Delhi was 173.2 mm in 1885.

Temperatures drop, cold nights ahead

The rain and dense cloud cover led to a sharp fall in daytime temperatures. Delhi’s maximum temperature on Tuesday dropped to 16.9 degrees Celsius, which is five degrees below normal. However, the minimum temperature rose to 8 degrees Celsius, up from 4.2 degrees on Monday.

IMD officials said daytime temperatures are expected to remain between 17 and 19 degrees Celsius over the next two days. Night temperatures may hover between 11 and 13 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. By Saturday, the minimum temperature could dip to around 5 to 7 degrees Celsius before rising again early next week.

Another spell of rain likely from Feb 1

Weather officials also noted that another western disturbance is likely to affect the region from the night of January 31. This system could bring one or two spells of light rain on February 1, along with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds reaching up to 40 kmph.

Weather conditions are expected to improve gradually as the week progresses. Wednesday may still see unsettled conditions with scattered showers in nearby areas. From Thursday onwards, skies are likely to clear, with sunny days and slightly warmer temperatures.

Air quality remains a concern

Despite the rainfall, Delhi saw no immediate relief from air pollution. The city’s air quality worsened to the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi’s average AQI at 4 pm stood at 336, up from 241 on Monday.

Officials from the Air Quality Early Warning System said the AQI is likely to improve to the ‘poor’ category on Wednesday due to the impact of the rain. However, pollution levels may worsen again by Friday and are expected to fluctuate between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ over the next six days.