Chandigarh sees its driest June in 12 years

With just 11.9 mm rain in the entire month amid soaring temperatures, the city braved the driest June since 2012 when 6.2 mm rain was recorded, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) records.

At 11.9 mm, the rain was 92% below normal, which is 155.5 mm for the first of the four monsoon months. In stark contrast, a significant 142.9 mm rain was recorded last year, before all-time highest 738.7 mm rain in July.

IMD Chandigarh director AK Singh said, “In the first half of June, the city received no rain along with continued heatwave. Even in the second half, though we had some Western Disturbances (WD) and premonsoon showers, the delay in monsoon’s arrival led to low rain.”

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Singh said the deficit in rain was likely to be compensated in July, when a good amount of rain had been predicted for the first half of the monsoon. While premonsoon showers started in the city at the beginning of this week, no major rain spell has been reported so far, making Chandigarh one of the few places left in India where monsoon has yet to be declared.

Humidity also continues to rise, going up to 78% on Sunday.

However, the maximum temperature fell from 39.2°C on Saturday to 37.7°C on Sunday, still 2.2 degrees above normal. The minimum temperature dipped slightly from 29.7°C to 28.7°C, also 1.6 degree above normal. Over the next three days, the maximum temperature will hover between 33°C and 38°C, while the minimum temperature will remain between 27°C and 29°C.

Average temperatures also highest in recent years

Both the average maximum and minimum temperatures recorded for the city in June were also highest since 2011, as per IMD data.

At 41.4°C, the average maximum temperature was significantly higher than 35.5°C in 2023, amid 142.9 mm rain through June.

Similarly, the average minimum temperature at 28.2°C was also higher than 25.4°C 2023.

IMD officials said this was due to the long heatwave that persisted in the city for a large part of the month. With record-breaking temperature recorded during June, the average stayed high despite the mercury declining in the recent days.