Heavy rain lashes Delhi-NCR, moderate showers likely today

The rain came as a respite, especially after Delhi witnessed a sluggish start to the monsoon in July. Until Wednesday, 18.3 mm of rainfall had been recorded at Safdarjung – considered to be Delhi’s base observatory – against a long period average (LPA) of 204.7 mm for the month.

Monsoon had arrived in the Capital on June 29, two days after Delhi’s usual onset date of June 27.

The skies had turned a brooding grey well before the downpour, with the humidity level touching 81%. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) went on to sound a red alert at 6.30 pm — until then, the city was under an orange alert — while also issuing a public advisory, asking residents to stay indoors. On the impact expected, it warned of localised flooding and electrocution hazards.

At 8.30 pm again, the IMD issued another red alert — indicating the need to stay vigilant and take action — for the entire Delhi-NCR, with a forecast of moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

“An eastward-moving cloud cluster is likely to cause moderate rainfall at most places with heavy rainfall at isolated locations, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and strong winds gusting up to 50 kmph during the next two hours,” an IMD official had said in the evening.

By 7.15 pm, several parts of East Delhi had started receiving light to moderate showers. According to IMD, Pragati Maidan recorded the highest rainfall at 38 mm, followed by Najafgarh at 9 mm and Mungeshpur at 7 mm. Pragati Maidan also recorded the highest wind speed at 39 kmph.

Waterlogging and traffic disruptions were reported from Arvind Marg, G K Marg, Rail Bhawan, Akshardham, Ashram, ITO, Pul Prahladpur, M B Road, M G Road, Old Rohtak Road, Shadipur, Madhuban Chowk and National Highway 8.

In the Capital, the maximum temperature settled at 35.6 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 26.4 degrees, both a notch below normal, on Wednesday.

While no alert has been issued for the coming days, the forecast for Thursday indicates a generally cloudy sky with moderate rain. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 and 34 degrees Celsius.

Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) remained in the satisfactory category at 81, as per Central Pollution Control Board data. For 15 days in a row now, the AQI has remained below 100, in the satisfactory category. According to the air quality forecast systems, the AQI is expected to remain in this category until July 11.