Ahmedabad: A burst of intense rain on Friday morning pushed Ahmedabad’s seasonal rainfall past its annual average, with the city receiving 73mm till 6pm — more than 83% of it in just two hours — leaving several areas waterlogged and prompting some schools, colleges and offices to opt for closures or work from home.Of the day’s rainfall, 61mm was recorded between 8am and 10am, when the city witnessed a sharp spell of heavy showers. The intensity brought back memories of the July 23 deluge, with several road stretches temporarily inundated and pockets on the city’s outskirts reporting power outages.The latest spell also took Ahmedabad’s seasonal rainfall to 864mm, surpassing its average annual rainfall of 826mm. According to State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) data, the city had received 791mm till 6am on Friday. Since 2022, only 2023 had failed to cross the 100% mark of the annual average rainfall, the data showed.For many residents, the downpour disrupted the morning routine. In some cases, schools and transport operators decided against taking chances with children as rainwater accumulated on roads.“I had barely come home after dropping my daughter to the school bus when I got a call from the transport manager saying the bus was dropping the children back home. I was surprised, but the manager said that given the condition of rain, they did not want to take any chance, lest the roads get flooded and the bus gets stranded,” said Payal Shah, a Ghatlodia resident.Waterlogging was also reported in parts of east Ahmedabad. Harshad Patel, a social worker from Amraiwadi, said several societies in Bhaipura were affected.“Water entered homes in low-lying areas and residents had to pump it out. Traffic below Guruji Bridge was also affected because of waterlogging,” he said.The heavy rain brought down temperatures significantly. Ahmedabad recorded a maximum temperature of 29.8 degrees celsius on Friday, 4.2 degrees below normal, while the minimum temperature was 22.2 degrees celsius, 2.8 degrees below normal. Relative humidity was as high as 98% in the morning before falling to 66% by 5.30pm.The India Meteorological Department has forecast cloudy conditions for Saturday, with the possibility of light to moderate showers.
