•  This article is shared by Waseem Ahmed for PWP from Karachi city, Sindh, Pakistan

Can you measure rainfall at your home?

Our Rain Gauge

Yes, anyone can find out how much rain has fallen in his area by measuring it himself with a ‘Rain Gauge’. Although most of people may not have easy access to the standard rain gauge but by a pot that has straight walls and 3-5 inches’ diameter, for example like a Jar or a Beaker that has nearly 6 to 8 inch capacity can give a better idea of rainfall. I have been using such kind of a pot (pictures are given as set ‘1’) for many years to record rainfall at my rooftop and found it with 80-90% accurate readings. Some more examples that are closer to a Standard Rain Gauge are given (in pictures set ‘2’) that can be used for checking/measuring rainfall amount with a scale.

Important when it rains:

Other Rain Gauge

For measuring the rain, the instrument should be in open area, away from any shade, wall, tree, roof side, shelter or any spot from where accumulated water is falling. Also it should have some weight or support so that it does not fall away especially during any stormy or windy conditions.

After a period of rain or showers you can measure the water inside the pot by putting in a scale with using its mm (millimeters) side. Normally during a good thunderstorm or rain spell of 30 minutes, it rains about 20 to 30 mm however it is not a standard and it mainly depends on the intensity of rain.

We should also remember always that rainfall does differ from place to place especially in big cities e.g. on 19^th April, 2012 Masroor Base (west side of Karachi) received 5 mm of rain where Defence, Korangi, Landhi got almost nothing (less than 1 mm).

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