Chandigarh remained largely dry on Wednesday, even after the weather warning was upgraded from a yellow alert to an orange alert for heavy rain. The city only saw scattered spells of drizzle in isolated areas, and the widespread rain that was forecast did not happen.
This continues a pattern seen over the past few days, where weather warnings have not led to significant rainfall in the city.
Temperature Drops Slightly Despite Lack of Rain
The limited cloud cover did help moderate temperatures. Chandigarh recorded a maximum temperature of 33.8°C on Wednesday. This was a fall of 2.8 degrees Celsius from Tuesday and 0.6 degree below normal.
The minimum temperature remained unchanged at 25.6°C, staying 1 degree below normal. Relative humidity remained high throughout the day under overcast skies.
Only Trace Rainfall Recorded
Only trace rainfall was recorded during the day till the filing of the report. The forecast of widespread rain did not materialise, continuing the trend of weather warnings yielding limited rainfall in the city over the past few days.
IMD Predicts Heavy Rain on Thursday
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has now predicted heavy rain for Chandigarh on Thursday. It remains to be seen whether this forecast will bring the rainfall that was expected on Wednesday.
Our Take: A Pattern of Missed Forecasts
To put it plainly, this is the second time in recent days that a heavy rain alert has not matched the actual weather in Chandigarh. While weather forecasting is never an exact science, repeated misses can erode public trust in warnings. In our view, the IMD needs to improve its localised predictions so that residents can take alerts seriously. For now, all eyes are on Thursday's forecast — and whether the rain finally arrives.