IMD gets its rain data wrong, then quietly fixes it. Delhi yet to cross its average for August showers

Delhi's August rainfall appears to have been miscalculated by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), only to be swiftly rectified. On Monday, the IMD announced that the city had received 234.5mm of rain in the first 10 days of August, surpassing the expected total for the month. However, by Tuesday, the IMD quietly revised the figure down to 197.2mm.

The discrepancy was only brought to light when the Hindustan Times (HT) reached out to the IMD for clarification. An official with the IMD admitted that the initial figure was incorrect, and the accurate reading was 197.2mm. The agency explained that the earlier number was a result of an incorrect entry for rainfall on August 6.

Further investigation revealed that the error stemmed from an incorrect entry in the IMD's weather chart, which led to a discrepancy of 37.3mm between the data on Monday and the revised data on Tuesday. The IMD confirmed the error and corrected the record, stating that the cumulative rain for August should be 197.2mm, not the initially reported 234.5mm.

This is not the first time the IMD has faced criticism for inaccurate weather predictions. On Tuesday, the agency issued an orange alert predicting light to moderate rainfall for Delhi, but by 5.30pm, Safdarjung recorded 4mm of rain, indicating that the forecast was not entirely accurate. As the Kanwar Yatra continued, the IMD later predicted "very light to light rain" for Wednesday and Thursday.