Second highest rainfall since 2007 in Delhi brings day-night temperature margin to record low: IMD
New Delhi (PTI): The national capital received the second highest rainfall since 2007 in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am, according to the India Meteorological data on Sunday.
The city weathered near ceaseless rains measuring 74mm till 8.30 am Sunday that brought the maximum temperature on Saturday down by 10 notches, closing in the day-night temperature gap to a record low.
Incessant rains for the second consecutive day in the national capital improved the air quality on Sunday to a "satisfactory" level.
The air quality index recorded at 9 am was 54 which falls in the good category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board data.
The minimum temperature in the national capital settled at 23.4 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average, a weather official said.
The difference between minimum temperature (20.8 degrees Celsius) on Friday and maximum temperature (23.4 degrees Celsius) on Saturday was 2.6 degrees Celsius -- the lowest since 1969, the official said.
Earlier, the lowest such margin was recorded on October 19, 1998, at 3.1 degree Celsius, the IMD added.
Relative humidity recorded at 8.30 was 100 percent, he said.
The Safdarjung observatory, the city's primary weather station, received 74.3 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours. The Palam observatory recorded 64.9 mm of rainfall. The Lodhi Road, Ridge, and Ayanagar weather stations received 87.2 mm, 60.1 mm, and 85.2 mm of rainfall respectively, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Rainfall below 15 mm is considered "light", between 15 mm and 64.5 mm "moderate", between 64.5 mm and 115.5 mm "heavy", and between 115.6 mm and 204.4 mm "very heavy". Above 204.4 mm is considered "extremely heavy" rainfall.
The IMD has for Sunday forecast a generally cloudy sky with light rain and thundershowers in a few places. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 24 degrees Celsius.
According to IMD, post-monsoon rain in the area is due to the interactions of a western disturbance which lies as a trough in mid and upper air with a deep trough of easterly wind at a lower level.
According to the weather official, the easterly wind phenomenon is responsible for the very high moisture incursions that cause rains from the Arabian Sea across Gujarat and east Rajasthan, spreading up to Uttarakhand and crossing the Delhi region.
The official explained that moisture is always available at lower levels, at or near the Earth's surface.
Western disturbance, being the upper air system, always moves west, and helps exacerbate such interactions and ultimately make all rain and clouds move north-eastwards to northeast Uttar Pradesh or Bihar.
"But for sustaining a rain spell for up to two days, those winds have linked from the Arabian Sea, and that is exactly happening. In October to March normally, we get 3 to 5 such intense interactions," the IMD official said.
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Cong slams BJP after FinMin report says USAID projects not related to 'voter turnout'
New Delhi (PTI): Amid the ongoing row over USAID funding, the Congress on Monday claimed that the Union finance ministry has "thoroughly exposed" the BJP's "lies" with its annual report for 2023-24 stating that the US agency is currently implementing seven projects in collaboration with the Government of India and none of them has anything to do with voter turnout.
The BJP has also rejected allegations of the Congress and accused Rahul Gandhi as well as the party of colluding with foreign forces in a bid to weaken India.
The latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24.
"Currently, seven projects worth a total budget of USD 750 million (approx) are being implemented by USAID in partnership with the Government of India," as per the finance ministry's annual report for 2023-24.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "None other than the Union Finance Ministry has thoroughly exposed the lies of the PM and his jhoot brigade, including his dapper External Affairs Minister."
As stated in the finance ministry's annual report for 2023-24, USAID is currently implementing seven projects in collaboration with the Government of India, with a combined budget of approximately USD 750 million, he said in a post on X.
"Not a single of these projects has to do with voter turnout. All of them are with and through the Union Government," Ramesh said.
For the financial year 2023-24, an obligation of a total of USD 97 million (about Rs 825 crore) has been made by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) under the seven projects, the ministry report said.
The Department of Economic Affairs under the finance ministry, which is the nodal department for bilateral funding arrangements, has also shared the details of projects funded in 2023-24 in the report.
During the year, no funding was made for enhancing voter turnout but to projects related to agriculture and food security programme; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); renewable energy; disaster management and health.
A political controversy erupted in the country earlier this month after the Elon Musk-led DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) claimed that it had cancelled a USD 21 million grant to India to boost "voter turnout".
US President Donald Trump also repeatedly claimed that USAID under the previous administration led by Joe Biden allocated USD 21 million in funding to India for 'voter turnout'.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the information put out by the Trump administration is "concerning" and the government is looking into it.
The USAID was allowed in India "in good faith, to do good faith activities", and suggestions are being made out of the US that "there are activities which are in bad faith," Jaishankar had said.
The Congress on Sunday had accused the BJP of indulging in "anti-national work" by spreading "fake news from America" and asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar will also have to answer as to why the government is silent when US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are "insulting" India repeatedly.
