Waterlogging, traffic snarls mark rainy Wednesday in Delhi

New Delhi: Rainwater pooling on roads, vehicles inching through long traffic snarls and flooded stretches across several neighbourhoods turned Wednesday's showers into another difficult day of commute for Delhiites, as waterlogging disrupted movement in many parts of the national capital for hours.

The rain left several roads submerged, slowing traffic across key corridors and affecting movement in different parts of the city.

Heavy congestion was reported on the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, while commuters also faced slow-moving traffic at ITO, Mathura Road, Lodhi Road, parts of Lutyens' Delhi, Rohtak Road, the Shankar Road-Kirti Nagar stretch, the Delhi-Jaipur Highway, Madhuban Chowk, Peeragarhi and Shaheen Bagh.


Traffic movement was also affected in several parts of east Delhi, including GT Road, Loni Road, Jhilmil, GTB Enclave and Dilshad Garden, where rainwater accumulation slowed vehicular movement.

Waterlogging was reported from multiple locations across the city, including the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, where inundation persisted for several hours.

Stretches in Sangam Vihar, including Shani Bazaar Road, and Dakshin Puri also remained waterlogged, while flooding-like conditions were reported from parts of south Delhi. Waterlogging was also reported from several areas in central Delhi.

The gallery of Safdarjung Hospital was filled with rainwater following the showers. According to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), three cases of tree felling were reported across the city between 6 am and 2 pm on Wednesday.

The MCD control room also received 10 complaints of waterlogging between 2 pm and 6 pm, with five complaints each from the Central and South zones.

Many commuters took to social media to share videos and photographs of submerged roads and complain about waterlogging in areas such as CR Park, Sangam Vihar, Lodhi Road and several other localities, saying the inundated stretches made commuting difficult.

Between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, Safdarjung, the city's base weather station, recorded 15.6 mm of rainfall, while Lodhi Road received 38.7 mm. Palam recorded 1.4 mm, Ayanagar 0.2 mm and Ridge reported trace rainfall during the period.

Earlier, in the 24 hours ending at 8:30 am, Safdarjung recorded 10.8 mm of rainfall, Ayanagar 49.3 mm, Palam 8.3 mm, Lodhi Road 3.9 mm and Ridge 3.0 mm.

The maximum temperature settled at 32.6 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, 31.0 degrees Celsius at Palam, 32.8 degrees Celsius at Lodi Road, 34.0 degrees Celsius at Ridge and 30.5 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar. It was 1.6 notches below normal at Safdarjung, 3.4 notches below normal at Palam, 0.2 notches below normal at Lodhi Road, normal at Ridge and 3.5 notches below normal at Ayanagar.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president (Meteorology and Climate Change) at Skymet Weather, said Delhi and adjoining areas are likely to receive moderate rain over the next two to three days under the influence of multiple weather systems.

He said a western disturbance over the Himalayas, cyclonic circulations over Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and the Darjeeling region, an active monsoon trough and enhanced moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal are expected to keep rainfall activity over north India active.

According to Palawat, these systems are likely to bring widespread rainfall across the Indo-Gangetic plains, with heavy rainfall likely in some areas. Delhi is expected to receive light to moderate rain till August 10, although isolated pockets may witness intense showers.

The India Meteorological Department has forecast a generally cloudy sky with moderate rain on Thursday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle around 32 degrees Celsius and 23 degrees Celsius, respectively. A yellow alert has been issued for the national capital.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 26.6 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung, 24.9 degrees Celsius at Palam, 26.7 degrees Celsius at Lodhi Road, 23.8 degrees Celsius at Ridge and 25.9 degrees Celsius at Ayanagar. It was 0.3 notches below normal at Safdarjung, 1.9 notches below normal at Palam, 0.7 notch above normal at Lodi Road, 2.4 notches below normal at Ridge and 0.5 notch below normal at Ayanagar.

Delhi's air quality remained in the satisfactory category on Wednesday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 69 at 4 pm. The city has maintained satisfactory air quality on all days of August so far.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 51 and 100 is considered "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor", and 401-500 "severe".