(Reopens DEL 91)

However, this year the quantity and spatial distribution of the rainfall has been much more than normal -- both over the plain and the foothills of the Himalayas. This was mainly because the induced systems associated with WDs were in the form of depression or a lower pressure area instead of the usual upper air cyclonic circulations. "This has led to moisture incursions from both Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and their convergence over the region," the weatherman said. Some meteorological stations have already broken old records for rainfall for the month following the two wet spells -- the first from February 4-6 and the second from February 15-17. Lucknow has recorded a total rainfall of 135.7 mm, an all time record for the month, while at Dehradun, the precipitation recorded so far is the highest after 1961 and at Barmer in Rajasthan it is highest after 1939. Delhi's Safdardjung weather station has recorded a total rainfall of 93 mm, which is the fifth highest since 1901 for the entire month of February after 143.2 mm in 1915, 128.2 mm in 1942, 123.5 mm in 1990 and 96.6 mm in 1954.