New Delhi, Jul 9 (IANS): The initial monsoon downpour wreaked havoc in both residential and commercial areas of Delhi on Saturday and Sunday while breaking a 41-year record, as the capital recorded 153 mm of rain in 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Sunday, the highest in a single day in July since 1982, said the India Meteorological Department.

The IMD said that Delhi's Safdarjung weather station recorded the third highest 24-hour rainfall for the month of July since 1958.

As of 8.30 a.m., the Safdarjung weather station registered rainfall of 153 mm, making it one of the most significant rain events in recent history.

The IMD, in a tweet, provided details of the top five highest 24-hour rainfall records for the month of July in New Delhi (Safdarjung) between 1958 and 2023. The previous records indicate that in 1958, the Safdarjung Observatory recorded 266.2 mm of rain during the period of July 20-21. Another notable rainfall event occurred in 1982, with 169.9 mm recorded during the period of July 25-26, according to the IMD.

In another tweet, the weather forecast agency said that from Sunday 8.30 a.m to 5.30 p.m., the Safdarjung weather station recorded 106 mm of rainfall while at Delhi Ridge, it was 65 mm.

According to the IMD, the maximum temperature reached 30.8 degrees Celsius, which is six notches below the seasonal average on Sunday. The relative humidity was 100 per cent.

The IMD also issued ‘Yellow’ alert for Monday - the second of four color codes to indicate weather warnings. While green denotes no action required, yellow is to stay alert and informed, orange is for being prepared, and red to take immediate action.

The meteorological office forecasted a generally cloudy sky with light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm for Monday and the expected range for the maximum and minimum temperatures is around 31 and 24 degrees Celsius, respectively.