First monsoon showers drench Chandigarh, night temp dips to third-lowest in region

Chandigarh received the first showers of this monsoon, which drenched the city overnight and dipped the minimum temperature to the third-lowest in the region.

The city recorded a 34 mm downpour, which was the second-highest in the region after the 39 mm of rainfall observed in Yamunanagar.

Even as the monsoon’s arrival brought much-needed relief from the sweltering heat, the season’s maiden rainfall exposed the preparedness of the civic authorities, with most parts of the tricity region, comprising Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula, getting inundated due to clogged drains and road gullies.

The Tribune Chowk, which is one of the busiest junctions in the city, was also seen waterlogged, with vehicles wading through the knee-deep water accumulated on all four sides of the rotary and connecting roads.

The rain, which was also coupled with moderate winds, thunderstorms, and lightning, uprooted several trees and poles across the tricity region, damaging several vehicles and public property.

This also showed the insensitivity and lackadaisical approach on the part of the civic authorities, who failed to prune the old and overgrown trees before the monsoon.

If this was not enough, the rain also pained the residents with an unannounced power outage in several parts of the tricity.

In Mohali, the residents of most areas sweated without power supply from midnight until the wee hours of Saturday.

The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials attributed the major power disruption to the breakdown of supply lines following the uprooting of trees and poles in different parts of the city. Chandigarh’s 23.8 degrees Celsius night temperature remained the third-lowest minimum temperature in the region after Yamunanagar and Panchkula, which recorded the lowest and second-lowest, at 20.9 and 23.1 degrees Celsius, respectively. While the city’s minimum temperature dipped by 5.4 degrees during the past 24 hours, which was a 2.8-degree departure from the normal, Mohali recorded 24.6 degrees Celsius on Friday night.

The weathermen have predicted more rain coupled with thunderstorms and lightning in the tricity and the region during the day, which will further dip the day’s temperature as well.

Chandigarh