Many areas of Delhi experienced moderate to heavy rainfall on Wednesday, which lowered the maximum temperature and brought relief from the humid conditions. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted light rain on Thursday and issued a yellow alert for Friday, expecting light to moderate rainfall.
The rain, which occurred between 2:30 PM and 5:30 PM, led to waterlogging in parts of south Delhi, causing traffic jams from Qutub Minar Metro station to the IIT flyover.
The IMD also stated that fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall, along with thunderstorms and lightning, is likely over northwest and central India in the next five days. “This is due to a cyclonic circulation over Himachal Pradesh and a trough extending from southeast Pakistan to Bangladesh at lower tropospheric levels,” the IMD explained.
On Wednesday, Delhi’s maximum temperature was recorded at 34.1 degrees Celsius, which is three degrees below normal, while the minimum was 29 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal. The previous day, the maximum and minimum temperatures were 36.7 degrees Celsius and 30.7 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Safdarjung, Delhi’s main weather station, recorded 9mm of rain by 5:30 PM on Wednesday. In the same period, Palam station recorded 14.1mm, Lodhi Road station 7mm, Ridge station 4.2mm, and Ayanagar station 39.8mm.
The IMD noted that Ayanagar experienced an intense spell of rainfall, while other locations had light to moderate rain. Rainfall intensity is categorized as follows: “light” is up to 10mm per hour, “moderate” is 10-20mm per hour, “intense” is 20-30mm per hour, and “very intense” is 30-50mm per hour.
The rain caused waterlogging in south Delhi, resulting in traffic congestion and delays along Africa Avenue, Munirka, near Qutub Minar Metro Station, near IIT Delhi flyover, RTR flyover, MB Road, and Rohtak Road. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi reported receiving complaints about uprooted trees from Geeta Colony, Rampura Golden Park, and Tri Nagar.