Not only did it make things difficult for office-goers but also managed to take the total rainfall to 172 mm, bolstering a new record for highest rainfall received in May.

The rain, accompanied by high-velocity winds, began around 9.30 and lasted for up to an hour-and-a-half. Several trees were reportedly uprooted.

Total rainfall received in the past 24 hours stands at 36.4 mm. Till May 23 it had already rained 136 mm, which exceeded a record set in 2002, when 129 mm of rainfall was recorded.

S C Bhan, director of Safdarjung Met Department, said he had not expected such high rainfall. “When we started predictions on May 1, we could not have imagined such rain,” he said.

Temperatures that had just begun to rise fell to 33.4 degrees Celsius, eight notches below normal, as did the minimum temperature, which settled at 20.0 degrees Celsius. Sunday’s temperature at 35 degrees Celsius was also five notches below normal.

According to the Met department, the rains were a result of cyclonic circulations in the upper atmosphere.

“The upper air cyclonic circulation is full of moisture and so it rains quite heavily,” said the weatherman. More rains are forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. “After that there are chances of the temperature rising but it wont climb above 41 degrees Celsius,” he said.

Apart from waterlogging in various parts of the city, a tree fell outside the Delhi Zoo, damaging the wall surrounding the outer lawns and flattened a car parked next to it. No casualty was reported.

Squalls accompanied by high winds have been a frequent phenomenon.

This morning too, rain was accompanied by winds that clocked a speed of 35 to 40 km/h.

Rainy days
While the beginning of the month witnessed slight drizzles, the rain has increased:
May 6: 1.0mm
May 14: 7.2mm
May 22: 24.7mm
May 23: 35.1 mm
May 26: 36.4 mm