IMD Logs 28.8 mm Rain at Varanasi; Partly Cloudy Spell Holds

The India Meteorological Department’s Varanasi city sheet (station id 42479) for Friday, 18 September 2026, logged 28.8 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours ending 0830 IST. Maximum temperature stood at 34.5°C (departure +0.9°C at 1730) and minimum at 23.0°C (departure −2.3°C at 0830). Relative humidity was recorded at 93 percent at 1730 and 82 percent at 0830. Sunrise was listed at 05:46 and sunset at 17:59.

The near-term forecast on the same sheet for 18 to 19 September points to partly cloudy skies with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers, with indicative highs and lows around 35/26°C and no warning listed. For 20–22 September the sheet indicates partly cloudy conditions around 36/26°C then 35/26°C; 23 September again carries a rain or thundershower chance. This Friday sheet is distinct from the live Thursday reading that had logged 34.4 mm and should not be confused with that earlier stamp.

Twenty-eight point eight millimetres is a solid wet day without turning into a flood bulletin on its own. The cooler-than-normal overnight low after rain fits the pattern September often shows in the city: sticky evenings, then a sharper drop by dawn. Humidity still sitting in the low-to-mid 90s by late afternoon explains why clothes dry slowly even when the shower has passed.

No warning on the printed forecast is the absence of a colour alert, not a promise of dry roads through mid-week. Outdoor workers and school runs should treat isolated thundershower chances as real through at least 19 September and again around 23 September unless a later sheet revises the line. Sunrise and sunset times on the sheet give a narrow outdoor window before evening cloud builds.

Temperature departures tell a quiet story: the high ran nearly a degree above normal at the 1730 stamp, while the morning low sat more than two degrees below normal. That spread — warm afternoon, cool post-rain night — is what many neighbourhoods felt between Thursday’s heavier burst and Friday’s still-wet sheet. Partly cloudy with one or two spells remains the working phrase IMD printed for the weekend edge.

Comparing Friday’s 28.8 mm with Thursday’s heavier 34.4 mm only underlines that the city is in a wet spell, not a one-off burst. Highs near 34–36°C with lows near 23–26°C keep the air humid. Travellers heading to the ghats or to Cantt should pack a light cover even when the morning looks bright, because the sheet keeps isolated rain or thundershowers on the board through 19 September and again near 23 September.

The official city weather page for station 42479 remains the primary source for updated numbers. This desk will not invent gauge readings or warning colours that the sheet does not show. For now, the stamp is 28.8 mm logged, 34.5/23.0°C, partly cloudy ahead, and no warning on the printed forecast.