Chandigarh, July 8 – For the third consecutive day, the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) rainfall forecast for the region failed to materialise as only light showers were recorded in Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula on Tuesday—despite a yellow alert for heavy rain.
Earlier orange and yellow alerts issued for Sunday and Monday had also fallen flat, with no significant downpour recorded. Still, IMD has once again reissued a yellow alert for Wednesday and Thursday, warning of heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places across Chandigarh, Punjab, and Haryana.
Although today’s showers offered mild relief from the oppressive humidity, they did little to break the warm spell, with relative humidity levels rising to 89 per cent. The tricity saw minor dips in temperature, with Chandigarh registering a maximum of 35.1°C and a minimum of 26.6°C—down 0.9°C and 1.4°C respectively from Monday, but still above seasonal averages.
“The weather is expected to remain generally to partly cloudy with chances of thunderstorms and rain until July 13,” said a spokesperson from the IMD.
Bathinda in Punjab and Mewat in Haryana logged the highest minimum temperatures on Monday night, at 28°C and 28.5°C respectively. Anandpur Sahib (Punjab) and Sirsa (Haryana) were the hottest towns on Tuesday, each recording a maximum of 39.2°C.
Meanwhile, Hoshiarpur in Punjab and Narnaul in Haryana experienced the coolest nights in the region, with minimum temperatures of 25.4°C and 24.4°C respectively.
The IMD noted a slight shift in average maximum temperatures: a 0.4°C drop in Punjab and a 1.6°C rise in Haryana, bringing readings 2.1°C and 1.7°C below normal, respectively.
Despite the recent lull, the monsoon had hit the region hard earlier. In June, Chandigarh recorded 213mm of rainfall—the highest in the past decade and 37 per cent above the monthly average. The city also opened July with 31mm of rain on the first day, and by Tuesday, had logged 221.2mm in just three days.
While the rain brought temporary relief from heat, it also wreaked havoc on city infrastructure. Roads caved in, trees and electricity poles were uprooted, and essential services like water and power supply were disrupted, paralysing life across the tricity for several days.
With more rainfall forecasted for the week, officials and residents alike remain wary of both the accuracy of predictions and the city’s preparedness to withstand any fresh deluge.
