Following heavy rainfall in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that all Ministers and the mayor will inspect areas where people are facing problems due to waterlogging. He said that officers of all departments have been instructed to be on the ground, adding that the Sunday holiday for all officers has been cancelled. Delhi on Sunday woke up to more rain as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted light to moderate rainfall for today.
"Delhi received 126 mm of rain yesterday. 15% of the total rainfall of the monsoon season fell in just 12 hours. People were very upset due to water logging. Today all the ministers and the mayor of Delhi will inspect the problem areas. Officers of all departments have been instructed to cancel the Sunday holiday and get on the ground," the CM tweeted.
This comes after the first spell of heavy monsoon rain created a mess in residential and commercial areas of the national capital on Saturday causing inundated roads and overflowing drains with massive waterlogging and paralysed traffic for hours. The Safdarjung observatory, the city's primary weather station, recorded 153 mm of rainfall at 8.30 am today, the highest since July 25, 1982.
The Safdarjung Observatory recorded 153 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Sunday, the highest since the 24-hour rainfall of 169.9 mm on July 25, 1982, a senior IMD official said, as per news agency PTI. The city logged 133.4 mm of rain on July 10, 2003, and an all-time high of 266.2 mm on July 21, 1958.
The weather stations at Ridge, Lodhi Road, and Delhi University recorded 134.5 mm, 123.4 mm, and 118 mm of precipitation, respectively, PTI reported.
According to the Met Office, rainfall below 15 mm is considered light, 15 mm to 64.5 mm is moderate, 64.5 mm to 115.5 mm is heavy, and 115.6 mm to 204.4 mm is very heavy. Any amount exceeding 204.4 mm is classified as extremely heavy rainfall.