Heavy rain batters Delhi, red alert issued by IMD

Delhi woke up to overcast skies, waterlogged roads and uprooted trees on Thursday after overnight rain continued through the morning, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a ‘red’ alert for the day.

According to the IMD, Safdarjung, the capital’s base weather station, recorded 72.6 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am.

Other weather stations also recorded significant rainfall during the same period. Lodhi Road received 80.2 mm, Ridge recorded 77.8 mm, Palam logged 63.0 mm and Ayanagar registered 57.4 mm.

The IMD issued a ‘red’ alert for Delhi, warning of moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning during the day.

Rain lashes Delhi as IMD warns of more thunderstorms

The city’s minimum temperature settled at 24.3 degrees Celsius, which was 3.6 notches below normal, the weather office said.

Hours of continuous rainfall led to widespread disruption, with roads inundated and trees uprooted across several parts of the national capital.

According to Delhi Fire Service (DFS) officials, two trees were uprooted on Raja Dhir Singh Marg in southeast Delhi’s East of Kailash, affecting traffic movement. One tree fell near the ISKCON temple, while the other came down outside the National Heart Institute.

Waterlogging was reported from several parts of the city, including Vikas Marg, areas in East Delhi, New Delhi railway station, Munirka, Sadar Bazar and Dwarka.

Traffic moved slowly on the Delhi-Noida Expressway due to waterlogging, while several commuters and residents shared their experiences on social media.

Weather experts attributed the persistent rainfall over the past two days to the seasonal monsoon trough shifting northwards from central India towards the Himalayan foothills.

They said Delhi is likely to continue receiving widespread rainfall until the system moves further north, after which the city is expected to experience drier spells.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 61 at 9 am, placing it in the ‘satisfactory’ category, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as ‘good’, 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 as ‘severe’.