As earthquake jolts Delhi-NCR, here's why the national capital experiences frequent tremors

Delhi Earthquake Tremors: The people of the national capital started their day after experiencing strong tremors as an earthquake of 4.0 magnitude rocked parts of Delhi-NCR early on Monday, the National Center for Seismology said. There were no immediate reports of any damage or injuries.

The earthquake, with its epicentre in New Delhi, struck at a depth of five kilometres at 5:36 am, it said in a post on X.

Read More: Earthquake of magnitude 4.0 hits Delhi-NCR, strong tremors felt across North India


A 3.5-magnitude quake on April 12, 2020 and a 3.4-magnitude one on May 10, 2020, in northeast Delhi and a 4.4-magnitude earthquake on May 29, 2020, near Rohtak (about 50 kilometres west of Delhi), followed by more than a dozen aftershocks, sparked panic in the densely populated habitat.

Why frequent earthquakes in Delhi?

As per the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, Delhi is placed in Seismic Zone IV in the seismic zoning map of India. This intraplate region is exposed to moderate to high risk due to Himalayan earthquakes.

The zoning of a country is a continuous process which keeps undergoing changes as more and more data on occurrence of earthquakes in that country becomes available.

"The region with intensity less than V is designated as Zone 0. Thus, the designation of area as seismic Zone V indicates activity. Delhi is located in zone IV which has fairly high seismicity where the general occurrence of earthquakes is of 5-6 magnitude, a few of magnitude 6-7 and occasionally of 7-8 magnitude. Delhi thus lies among the high-risk areas," said the website of DDMA on Delhi's seismic zone.

Seismicity in North India, including the Himalayas, is due to collision of the Indian plate with Eurasian plate. This is a continuous process happening for the last 50 million years. These colliding plates flex, storing energy like a spring, and when the plate's margin finally slip to release energy, an earthquake results.

In the past, five earthquakes of Richer Magnitude 5.5 to 6.7 are known to have occurred in the UT of Delhi or close to it since 1720 AD. Two major lineaments namely Delhi-Haridwar ridge and Delhi-Moradabad faults pass through the territory, both having potential of generating earthquakes of magnitude upto MSK VIII will be quite probable in the Delhi territory. Normal depth of 30 km may be assumed for these earthquakes.

(with agency inputs)