Waterlogged roads, knee-deep flooding in busy markets and bumper-to-bumper traffic marked a rain-soaked Tuesday morning in Delhi as heavy showers battered the city, prompting the weather office to issue a red alert for thunderstorms, lightning and rain over the next few hours.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast a generally cloudy sky with heavy rain for the rest of the day, warning of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and intense spells of rain across the national capital.
Relentless rain through the morning inundated several parts of the city, with waterlogging reported from Connaught Place, Janpath, several roads in Lutyens’ Delhi, Bharat Mandapam Road, Barakhamba Road, Mathura Road near ITO, Kalindi Kunj and other low-lying areas.
Amid reports of waterlogging from several parts of the city, PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh shared a video on X showing traffic moving smoothly on Minto Bridge.
“Rain is pouring relentlessly, but life on Minto Bridge is moving along at the same pace. The very effort is to ensure that the monsoon remains just a season, not a trouble,” he said.
Large pools of water accumulated at several intersections, slowing traffic and forcing motorists to navigate submerged stretches with caution.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj posted a video on X from Sadar Bazar, one of Delhi’s busiest wholesale markets, where rainwater had risen to waist level, forcing schoolchildren, office-goers and shoppers to wade through flooded streets.
“School kids crossing Sadar Bazar ie one of the largest wholesale market in Delhi with rain waterlogged till their waistline.” the opposition leader said on the social media platform.
Dark, overcast skies blanketed the city for most of the morning, with spells of steady rain accompanied by gusty winds. Pedestrians huddled beneath umbrellas and bus shelters while vehicles moved slowly with headlights on as poor visibility.
According to posts shared by social media users, heavy traffic was reported from Greater Kailash-II to Savitri Cinema to Chirag Dilli, Hauz Khas and RK Puram, and from Sangam Vihar to Khanpur via MB Road on both carriageways.
Traffic congestion due to waterlogging was also reported on NH-8 near Shankar Vihar, Zakir Hussain Road, the Delhi Cantt-Naraina Flyover-Mayapuri stretch, ITO, Old Rohtak Road, the Madhuban Chowk-Netaji Subhash Place stretch, Peeragarhi, NH-48 near AIIMS, the Delhi-Noida Road, Kalindi Kunj and Vikas Marg, among other arterial roads.
Between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm, Pusa recorded the highest rainfall at 80 mm, followed by Janakpuri at 72 mm, Lodi Road at 63.4 mm, Chhatarpur at 57.5 mm, Safdarjung at 51 mm, Ayanagar at 50.1 mm, Narayana at 44 mm, Ridge at 37.3 mm, Mayur Vihar at 33.5 mm and Palam at 26 mm. Jafarpur recorded 8 mm of rainfall, while Najafgarh received no rain during the three-hour period.
The minimum temperature at Safdarjung settled at 25.5 degrees Celsius, 1.8 notches below normal.
Palam recorded 25 degrees Celsius, 2.1 notches below normal, while Lodi Road recorded 25.8 degrees Celsius, 0.2 notch below normal. The Ridge station recorded a minimum of 23.2 degrees Celsius, 2.3 notches below normal, while Ayanagar recorded 27.1 degrees Celsius, 1.1 notches above normal.
